Little-known Brazilian Fernandinho attempts to bridge cultural gap while playing in China

He does not have the fame – or enormous wages – of Shanghai-based Carlos Tevez or Oscar, and his nickname would be viewed as offensive by many, but Fernandinho, one of the growing number of Brazilian footballers in China, is bridging a wide cultural gap and finding celebrity in the southwestern city of Chongqing.

At 10:45am, he arrives to smiles in the gym, where he stretches before lifting a barbell, alongside a dozen Chinese teammates. He is known in the city by his nickname “Xiao Hei”, or “Little Black”. It is a reference to his age (24), and his skin colour.

While some might be offended, Fernandinho – not to be confused with his more illustrious namesake at Manchester City – simply laughs it off.

“The cultural differences are vast ... Brazilians are quite boisterous, and people in China are more reserved,” he said.

“But everybody does his best to communicate, and I often make jokes with my Chinese teammates, who do the same.”

The forward arrived at Chongqing, a metropolis of 8.5 million – roughly the population of Switzerland – in the summer of 2015, after a mixed experience at Estoril in Portugal’s Primeira Liga.