Yago Fernández

A Portuguese footballer Yago Fernández Prieto performs as a central defender for AEK Athens. Yago was born on 5 January 1988 in Lisbon.

In 1997, Prieto entered the academy of Benfica and his junior career began. There he used to play for the U-11 and U-13 teams. In 2001, the young defender was scouted by Sporting CP, where the following season of his youth career passed. In 2002, the player was drafted into the academy of Real Madrid. He was a highly-rated teenager at the club’s youth department. In 2005, Yago joined the youth side of Valencia, where his junior career came to an end.

In 2006, Fernández joined the B team of Valencia. The footballer spent two years defending reserves. He got enough playing time to keep himself in good shape, but, nevertheless, he didn’t manage to reveal his potential. That’s why in 2008, the defender opted to join Espanyol, where he was again selected for the reserve side. He remained at the club until 2010, making 36 appearances. In 2010, Yago moved on loan to the Portuguese club Gil Vicente, where he made no appearances at all.

In the summer 2010, Fernández Prieto joined the Swedish side Malmö FF. The contract was extended several times during the spell. The defender made occasional appearances for the club both as a member of the first XI and as a substitute player. In total, he racked up four goals in 23 matches for the Swedish side. In 2012, Yago was bought out by Girona from the Spanish second division. He made 12 appearances and was once lucky to find the net. In the summer 2012, a move to AEK Athens happened. The defender has already made more than 10 appearances for the new team.

On international level, Yago Fernández Prieto used to represent the Portugal national youth team at U-116, U-17, U-18 and U-19 levels. The footballer made 22 appearances for the national side from 2003 to 2007.