Gerso Fernandes

Last updated

Gerso
220805 FCseoul vs jeju yunaitideu FC (Gerso Fernandes).jpg
Gerso with Jeju United in 2022
Personal information
Full name Gerso Fernandes [1]
Date of birth (1991-02-23) 23 February 1991 (age 34) [1]
Place of birth Bissau, Guinea-Bissau [1]
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) [1]
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Incheon United
Number 11
Youth career
2004–2009 União Coimbra
2009–2010 Académica
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010–2011 Académica 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Tourizense (loan) 25 (3)
2011–2016 Estoril 93 (3)
2014–2015 → Moreirense (loan) 25 (5)
2016–2017 Belenenses 14 (1)
2017–2020 Sporting Kansas City 107 (18)
2021–2022 Jeju United 69 (13)
2023– Incheon United 98 (26)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:41, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

Gerso Fernandes (born 23 February 1991) is a Bissau-Guinean professional footballer who plays as a left winger for K League 1 club Incheon United.

Contents

Club career

Career in Portugal

Born in Bissau, Gerso moved to Portugal in his early teens, joining União de Coimbra's youth system in 2004 at age 13. As a junior, he signed with neighbouring Académica de Coimbra where he went on to complete his development; [2] he did not play football for two years during his formative spell, after a priest from the charity facility where he was living advised him against the dangers of turning professional. [3]

Gerso made his debut as a senior with Tourizense in the third division, who acted as Académica's farm team. [4] Released in summer 2011, he moved to Estoril of Segunda Liga, contributing 20 scoreless appearances in his first season as the club returned to the Primeira Liga after seven years. [5]

Gerso made his debut in Portugal's top flight on 17 August 2012, playing 30 minutes in a 2–1 away loss against Olhanense. [6] He continued to be played almost exclusively as a substitute in the following campaigns by manager Marco Silva. [7] [8]

For 2014–15, Gerso was loaned to Moreirense of the same league. [9] After returning from Moreirense, he played 30 league matches as a starter during the 2015–16 season. [10] Prior to the 2016–17 season, he left Estoril, moving to another Primeira Liga club Belenenses.

Sporting Kansas City

On 4 January 2017, Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer announced the signing of Gerso from Belenenses on a three-year designated player contract, with an option for a fourth year. [11] On 17 May, he scored his first hat-trick in a 3–0 win over Seattle Sounders FC at Children's Mercy Park. [12] While playing for Kansas City for four years, he helped the club win the 2017 U.S. Open Cup. [13] He rejected an offer for a new deal at the end of the 2020 season, and was released. [14]

Career in South Korea

On 16 February 2021, Gerso joined K League 1 club Jeju United. [15] In 2022, he received an annual salary of ₩1.7 billion, becoming the highest-paid player at the K League 1. [16] After playing for Jeju for two years, he transferred to Incheon United of the same league on a free transfer. [17]

During the 2023 season, he showed top-class speed, [18] and had ten goals and nine assists at all competitions. [19] That year, he was evaluated as Incheon's key player, and was the club's only player to be selected for the K League Best XI. [19] In 2024, he struggled to avoid the club's relegation despite an injury, but eventually faced it. [20] Under his steady contribution, Incheon won the next year's K League 2, being promoted to the first division directly. He was named the K League 2 Most Valuable Player at the end of the season. [21]

Career statistics

As of match played 23 November 2025 [10]
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Estoril 2011–12 Liga de Honra 2103020——260
2012–13 Primeira Liga 2600030——290
2013–14 Primeira Liga16121305 [c] 0—262
2015–16 Primeira Liga3021000——312
Total933618050—1124
Moreirense (loan) 2014–15 Primeira Liga2552041——316
Belenenses 2016–17 Primeira Liga1411020——171
Sporting Kansas City 2017 Major League Soccer 32852——1 [d] 03810
2018 Major League Soccer31530——2 [d] 1366
2019 Major League Soccer25211—6 [e] 4—327
2020 Major League Soccer19 [f] 3———4 [g] 0233
Total1071893—647112926
Jeju United 2021 K League 1 32510———335
2022 K League 137820———398
Total691330———7213
Incheon United 2023 K League 134721—5 [h] 2—4110
2024 K League 127700———277
2025 K League 2 371200———3712
Total982621—52—10529
Career total396642351411667145279
  1. ↑ Includes Taça de Portugal, U.S. Open Cup, Korea Cup
  2. ↑ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. 1 2 Appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
  5. ↑ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
  6. ↑ Includes three appearances in MLS is Back Tournament group stage
  7. ↑ Two appearances in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage, two appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
  8. ↑ Appearances in AFC Champions League

Honours

Estoril

Sporting Kansas City

Incheon United

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Gerso" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Juniores: Maiores com a ajuda dos grandes" [Juniors: Getting bigger with help from big clubs]. Record (in Portuguese). 27 November 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  3. ↑ Amaro, Miguel (21 January 2012). "Gerso: "Padre proibiu-me de jogar futebol"" [Gerso: "Priest forbid me from playing football"]. Record (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Atlético supera Tourizense nos penáltis" [Atlético overcome Tourizense on penalties]. Record (in Portuguese). 21 November 2010. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Estoril ganha e antecipa festa de subida à I Liga" [Estoril win and celebrate promoting to I League sooner than expected] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Olhanense entra a ganhar" [Olhanense have winning debut]. Jornal do Algarve (in Portuguese). 18 August 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Gerso será opção a Licá" [Gerso will be alternative to Licá]. Record (in Portuguese). 20 April 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  8. ↑ Chi, Vítor (10 September 2013). "Gerso: "Marco Silva tem um plano para mim"" [Gerso: "Marco Silva has a plan for me"]. Record (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Moreirense: Gerso chega por empréstimo do Estoril" [Moreirense: Gerso arrives on loan from Estoril] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  10. 1 2 Gerso Fernandes at Soccerway (archived)
  11. ↑ Kovzan, Sam (4 January 2017). "Sporting KC signs winger Gerso Fernandes as a Designated Player". Sporting Kansas City. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  12. ↑ "Gerso Fernandes records hat trick in Sporting Kansas City's 3–0 victory over Sounders". The Seattle Times . 17 May 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  13. 1 2 Kovzan, Sam (21 September 2017). "Recap: Sporting KC crowned Open Cup champions with 2–1 win over New York Red Bulls". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  14. ↑ Bogert, Tom (20 January 2021). "Sporting KC's Peter Vermes gives updates on futures of Felipe Gutierrez, Gerso". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  15. ↑ 美 MLS 스타 제르소 영입...막강 측면 완성 [U.S. MLS star Gerso recruited] (in Korean). Jeju United FC. 16 February 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  16. ↑ '17억' 제르소, K리그 전체 '연봉킹'… 국내 1위는 김진수 (in Korean). Football Asian. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  17. ↑ 인천유나이티드, '리그 최고의 크랙' 공격수 제르소 전격 영입! (in Korean). Incheon United. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  18. ↑ 9월 K리그1서 고재현이 최다 스프린트…최고 속력은 완델손 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  19. 1 2 5년 만에 나온 '인천 베스트11'…제르소, 치열한 경합 끝에 주인공으로. Nate (in Korean). InterFootball. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  20. ↑ 인천Utd의 추락… 매년 꼴찌권 허덕 [인천UTD, 2부 리그 강등①] (in Korean). Kyeonggi Ilbo. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 "2025 K League 2 Awards: Incheon United sweep the major awards". OneFootball. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  22. ↑ "Five takeaways from Incheon United's title-winning season". OneFootball. 30 October 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  23. ↑ Ji-hwan, Paik (5 December 2023). "Ulsan's Kim Young-gwon wins K League 1 MVP". Korea JoongAng Daily . Retrieved 11 October 2024.
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