Fernando Muslera Uruguayan Footballer From Buenos Aires

Early life

Fernando Muslera, whose full name is Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol, was born on 16 June 1986 in Buenos Aires. His parents were Uruguayan and were living in Argentina for a limited time. He was only eight months old when the family moved to Uruguay, though he kept dual nationality. He grew up as a goalkeeper and stands 191 centimetres tall. His name was meant to honour the Uruguayan footballer Fernando Morena.

Career

Muslera began as a professional with Montevideo Wanderers, after coming through the club's youth system, and in 2007 he was loaned to Nacional. The performances there drew interest from Europe, and in August 2007 he joined Lazio for a fee of around three million euros. His first match, in September 2007, was a 3-1 home win over Cagliari. A heavy defeat to Milan soon afterwards cost him his place, and he spent the rest of that season behind the veteran Marco Ballotta, though he kept playing in the Coppa Italia.

He started the 2008-09 season as a back-up again, this time to Juan Pablo Carrizo, but regained the starting position in January 2009. In the Coppa Italia final on 13 May 2009 he saved two penalties in the shootout, and Lazio won 6-5 after a 1-1 draw. He kept his place as first choice the following season, and was in goal when Lazio beat Internazionale 2-1 in the 2009 Supercoppa Italiana, played in Beijing.

In July 2011 Galatasaray announced his signing on a five-year deal. Lorik Cana went to Lazio as part of the arrangement. Muslera stayed in Istanbul for fourteen years and played 551 competitive matches for the club. In the 2011-12 Süper Lig season he recorded 19 clean sheets, a league record, and scored his first career goal from a penalty on the final day. He made his Champions League debut in September 2012 at Old Trafford against Manchester United, saving a penalty from Nani. In February 2021 he made his 300th league appearance for Galatasaray, a record for a foreign player in the Süper Lig, and in January 2025 he became the club's most-capped player in the competition.

With Galatasaray he won eight Süper Lig titles, five Turkish Cups and six Turkish Super Cups, 19 trophies in total. His last match for the club came on 30 May 2025 against İstanbul Başakşehir. He left the pitch in the 88th minute wearing the number 25 shirt he had worn in his first league match. In June 2025 he joined the Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata on a contract running to December 2026, and he won the 2025 Clausura there.

He first played for Uruguay on 10 October 2009, starting in a 2-1 win away to Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier. At the 2010 World Cup he kept clean sheets in all three group matches and saved two penalties in the quarter-final shootout against Ghana, as Uruguay reached the semi-finals and finished fourth. In 2011 he played every minute of the Copa América that Uruguay won, and saved a penalty from Carlos Tevez in the quarter-final against Argentina. He was first choice again at the 2014 World Cup and at the 2015 Copa América, and went to the 2018 World Cup, where he made his 100th appearance for his country and passed Ladislao Mazurkiewicz's record for most World Cup appearances by a Uruguayan. He first captained Uruguay in September 2019.

By 2022 Sergio Rochet had taken over as first-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup. Muslera announced his retirement from the national team in April 2024, but he was recalled in March 2026 and named in the squad for the 2026 World Cup, which made him the first Uruguayan to be selected for five World Cups. He then announced he was retiring from international football for a second time after Uruguay went out in the group stage.

Recognition

Muslera was named Turkish Footballer of the Year in 2016 and was voted Süper Lig goalkeeper of the 2017-18 season. He appeared in the league's Team of the Year in 2014-15, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23. After the 2010 World Cup, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics ranked him seventh among goalkeepers worldwide. With Lazio he won the Coppa Italia in 2008-09 and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2009. Over his career he earned 137 caps for Uruguay between 2009 and 2026.

Personal life

Muslera is married to Patricia Callero. They have a son and two daughters.