Wikipedia

Matias Fernandez-Pardo

Matias Fernandez-Pardo (born 3 February 2005) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a wide midfielder or forward for Ligue 1 club Lille and the Belgium national team.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo
Fernandez-Pardo with Lille in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (2005-02-03) 3 February 2005 (age 21)
Place of birth Brussels, Belgium
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Lille
Number 7
Youth career
Anderlecht
Mechelen
2014–2020 Lille
2020–2022 Gent
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 Gent II 38 (4)
2023–2024 Gent 20 (9)
2024– Lille 51 (12)
International career‡
2020 Belgium U15 1 (0)
2021 Belgium U17 1 (0)
2023 Belgium U18 3 (0)
2023–2024 Belgium U19 10 (3)
2026– Belgium 5 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:32, 17 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 04:13, 26 June 2026 (UTC)

A former Lille youth talent across six years, Fernandez-Pardo moved back to Belgium and transitioned into Gent's youth system at the age of 15, before making his debut with the first team in March 2023 at the age of 18. The following year, he returned to Lille and signed a five-year contract with the club until 2029, scoring his first goal for the club in November.

Born in Belgium and a former youth international for the country across various ranks, Fernandez-Pardo switched allegiances to Spain in February 2025, but was sporadically selected to participate in Spain's under-21 and under-20 training camps, and was ultimately never chosen to play in any of their games. He then switched his nationality back to Belgium in May 2026, and was subsequently included in the Belgium squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

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Matias Fernandez-Pardo was born on 3 February 2005 in Brussels, Belgium within a family of Spanish and Italian descent.[2] He started playing football at Anderlecht and Mechelen, and then joined French Ligue 1 club Lille academy in 2014.[2] He stayed in Northern France until 2020 when he chose to come back in Belgium and join Gent youth system.[2]

Club career

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Gent

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During the 2022–23 season, he was selected for Jong KAA Gent, the promising team of Gent, where he managed to score two goals in 26 appearances. On 9 March 2023, he made his official debut with Gent's first team: in a Conference League match against Istanbul Başakşehir (1–1 draw), coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck brought him on as a substitute for Hugo Cuypers in the 85th minute.[3] On 1 April 2023, he joined the first team in his first league appearance against Seraing in a match that ended 5–0 for Gent. His first professional goal came in a 5–0 win against Charleroi.[4]

Fernandez-Pardo signed a contract extension with Gent in June 2023 until mid-2026.[5] In the 2024 winter transfer window, he was linked with a move to Lecce or Real Valladolid.[6][7] After Gent managed to secure a ticket to the Conference League, it was reported that Bayer Leverkusen was interested in recruiting him.[8][9] During the 2023–24 Belgian Pro League play-offs, he played in each of the 10 matches and scored 7 goals, as well as providing two assists.[2]

Lille

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On 30 August 2024, Fernandez-Pardo officially returned to French Ligue 1 club Lille, signing a five-year contract for the club he left as an academy player four years ago.[2] According to various columnists and reporters, the financial details of the transfer include an initial and base fee of €10 million and a maximum of €2 million add-ons depending on sporting conditions.[10][11][12] On 10 November, he scored his first Ligue 1 goal in a 2–2 draw at Nice after a rush on the left wing.[13] On 6 January 2025, Lille revealed that Fernandez-Pardo had suffered a torn ligament in his left ankle in a 1–1 draw against Nantes two days prior.[14]

International career

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Born in Belgium, Fernandez-Pardo was eligible to represent Spain, Italy, or Belgium.[15] In November 2023, he was called up by the Belgium under-19 team for the 2024 UEFA Euro Under-19 qualifying matches, and scored the winning brace against Albania.[16]

On 26 February 2025, Fernandez-Pardo's request to switch allegiance to Spain was approved by FIFA.[17] On 14 March, he was called up by the Spain national under-21 team. In August 2025, he was called up to the Spain national under-20 team for a training in camp in France ahead of the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup,[18] but he withdrew from the squad before the beginning of camp.[19] He ultimately never represented Spain at any level.

On 14 May 2026, Fernandez-Pardo's request to switch international allegiance back to Belgium was approved by FIFA.[17] A day later, he was called up to the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by manager Rudi Garcia.[20] On 2 June, he made his senior debut for Belgium in a 2–0 pre-World Cup friendly win over Croatia.[21] On 15 June, he made his World Cup debut when he came on in the 86th minute for Jeremy Doku in the opening group stage match in an eventual 1–1 draw against Egypt.[22]

Personal life

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Besides Belgium, Fernandez-Pardo also possesses Spanish citizenship, as his full name in his nationality switch document is displayed as Matías Fernández Picogna.[a][17]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 17 May 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Gent II 2022–23 Belgian National Division 1 262———262
2023–24 Belgian National Division 1 122———122
Total 384———384
Gent 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 10001[c]0—20
2023–24 Belgian Pro League 168003[c]0—198
2024–25 Belgian Pro League 31—4[c]1—72
Total 2090081—2810
Lille 2024–25 Ligue 1 224107[d]0—304
2025–26 Ligue 1 2981011[e]0—418
Total 511220180—7112
Career total 10925202610013725
  1. ↑ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fernández and the second or maternal family name is Picogna.
  2. ↑ Includes Coupe de France
  3. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in UEFA (Europa) Conference League
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

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As of match played 26 June 2026[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Belgium 202650
Total50

Honours

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Individual

References

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Notes

Citations

  1. ↑ "Belgium - M. Fernandez-Pardo - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Le prometteur attaquant belge, Matias Fernandez-Pardo est un Dogue". LOSC (in French). 30 August 2024. Archived from the original on 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  3. ↑ "Ook AA Gent mag na gelijkspel tegen Basaksehir nog dromen in Conference League: Gift Orban is weer held van de avond | Het Nieuwsblad". Het Nieuwsblad.
  4. ↑ "" On va jouer avec ceux qui ont envie de sauver le club " : le Sporting de Charleroi va jouer sa survie en Pro League lors des Playdowns". sudinfo.be. 18 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Matias Fernandez-Pardo verlengt contract | KAA Gent Website". KAA Gent.
  6. ↑ "Dal Belgio: Lecce interessato al 18enne Fernández-Pardo". 30 January 2024.
  7. ↑ "El Valladolid habría puesto el ojo en Matías Fernández-Pardo". OneFootball. 16 August 2024.
  8. ↑ "'Duitse landskampioen komt speler ophalen bij KAA Gent'". OneFootball. 14 June 2024.
  9. ↑ De Graeve, Sander (20 May 2024). "Fernandez-Pardo dé uitblinker bij AA Gent met twee goals en een assist: "Ik geniet vooral van mijn eerste assist"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  10. ↑ Van Damme, Michael (30 August 2024). "Matias Fernandez-Pardo keert terug naar Lille, AA Gent vangt minstens tien miljoen euro: "Droom om Champions League te spelen"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  11. ↑ Marcant, Raphaël (30 August 2024). "Mercato : Accord trouvé entre le LOSC et le KAA Gent pour Matias Fernandez-Pardo". Le Petit Lillois (in French). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  12. ↑ Aouna, Santi; Denis, Sébastien (30 August 2024). "Matias Fernandez-Pardo est proche du LOSC". Foot Mercato (in French). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  13. ↑ Penot, Hervé (11 November 2024). "« Je suis revenu car il y a tout pour que les jeunes progressent ici » : Fernandez-Pardo, un prometteur retour à Lille". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  14. ↑ "Official | Lille's Matias Fernandez-Pardo suffers torn ligament - Get French Football News". 6 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "Kassa, kassa voor KAA Gent: Fernandez-Pardo". VoetbalBelgie.
  16. ↑ "Twee doelpunten voor Fernandez-Pardo | KAA Gent Website". KAA Gent.
  17. 1 2 3 "FIFA Change of Association Platform". Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Paco Gallardo cita a 24 futbolistas para la concentración de Francia de septiembre" [Paco Gallardo names 24 players for September's training camp in France] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 28 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Matías Fernández-Pardo, baja en la concentración de la sub-20" [Matías Fernández-Pardo misses U-20 training camp] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 4 September 2025.
  20. ↑ "26 Red Devils in World Cup squad". Royal Belgian Football Association. 15 May 2026. Archived from the original on 7 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Croatia 0–2 Belgium (Jun 2, 2026) Final Score". ESPN. 2 June 2026. Archived from the original on 7 July 2026.
  22. ↑ Hand, Kevin Hand,Kevin. "Belgium v Egypt live: World Cup 2026". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 15 June 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ↑ "Matias Fernandez-Pardo". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  24. ↑ Marcant, Raphaël (30 November 2024). "« C'est sûr, il marquera encore des buts », Matias Fernandez-Pardo (LOSC) élu « Pépite du Mois » de novembre en Ligue 1". Le Petit Lillois (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2024.
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