Hernanes

São Paulo

Born in Recife, Hernanes is a product of the academy at São Paulo, where he played for nine years between 2001 and 2010. He was loaned out to Santo André for the 2006 season, while in 2008, as a São Paulo player, Hernanes won the Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão's best player award. In January 2009, Hernanes was listed as the most promising football player in the world by British newspaper The Times.

Lazio

On 6 August 2010, São Paulo agreed to sell Hernanes to Italian side Lazio. Hernanes signed a five-year contract. Lazio paid an €11.1 million transfer fee to São Paulo and third-party owner Traffic Group. Hernanes scored on his debut, converting a penalty in a friendly against Deportivo de La Coruña, having previously been brought down in the penalty area. He also assisted Sergio Floccari for Lazio's third goal. His first Serie A goal was also on a penalty, against Bologna in another 3–1 victory. On 3 December 2010, he scored the third goal in a 3–1 win over Inter Milan with a free-kick. He concluded the season with 11 goals, equal to Lazio's best goal-scoring return from midfield in one season, alongside Pavel Nedvěd. Hernanes later helped the club win the 2013 Coppa Italia Final against rivals Roma.

Inter Milan

On 31 January 2014, Hernanes joined Inter Milan, completing a permanent switch from Lazio by signing a four-and-a-half-year contract expiring 30 June 2018. His move was rumoured to be due to money motivation, a motive that was…

In March 2008, Hernanes was called up to the Brazil senior side, and earned his first cap that year, in a 1–0 friendly win over Sweden, held in London, on 26 March. Later that year, he was a member of the Brazil under-23 side that won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. During the tournament, he scored the only goal in Brazil's opening win against Belgium on 7 August; Brazil were eliminated by eventual champions Argentina in the semi-finals on 19 August, following a 3–0 defeat, but went on to capture the bronze medal after defeating Belgium once again three days later, by a score of 3–0. He returned to the senior team two years later, appearing in a 2–0 friendly away victory over United States on 10 August 2010. On 9 February 2011, Hernanes was sent off in the first half of a 1–0 friendly defeat against France in Paris, for kicking Karim Benzema in the chest. Later that year, on 10 November, he scored his first international goal, Brazil's second goal in a 0–2 win over Gabon in Libreville after reaching the ball from the goalkeeper's parry. Hernanes was selected by Luiz Felipe Scolari for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup on home soil. In a warm-up match against France on 9 June in Porto Alegre, he replaced Luiz Gustavo in the 81st minute and four minutes later scored the second goal of a 3–0 win. Hernanes appeared in all of Brazil's matches as they won the tournament, but only started the final group match against Italy on 22 June, which ended in a 4–2…

A hard-working and versatile player, Hernanes can cover all midfield positions, and has been used as an attacking midfielder, as a central midfielder, and as a deep-lying playmaker. Although he is not particularly quick, he is a dynamic and energetic player that is effective at making attacking runs and who possesses good physical attributes; moreover, he is known for his defensive contribution, and his willingness to press opposing players. He is known for being neat and tidy in possession, with the ability to pass the ball accurately out wide in order to stretch play or create chances for teammates. Hernanes is highly regarded for his creativity and technical skills: his double step is one of the most popular in the world; he is also an accurate and powerful striker of the ball from distance with either foot, despite being naturally right-footed, as well as being a threat from set-pieces, with his left as well as his "stronger" right foot, uniquely. Due to his playmaking ability, he has been compared to Andrea Pirlo, and Kaká, the latter with whom he has a close friendship. Regarded as a promising player in his youth, former Brazil international midfielder Edmílson defined Hernanes as the new Deco, while in 2009, he was elected the best Under-23 player in the world by The Times; that same year, Hernanes won the Bola de Prata award, being included in the Brazilian team of the year. During his first season in Italy, he was named by ESPN as the best emerging Brazilian player…

Hernanes is married and a father of four children. He is a Christian. São Paulo fans have dedicated a mural to Hernanes inside Estádio do Morumbi.