Manchester City recruit Fernando says he has matured greatly in the past few years and is now ready for English football.
The 27-year old Brazilian midfielder has joined City from FC Porto for £12million and insists he is now well-equipped to deal with the rigours of the Premier League after seeing his international career go down the drain about seven years ago.
Fernando was banned from football for a year for an altercation with a referee at the 2007 South American Youth Championship and suggests that incident helped him become the footballer and person he is today.
"I was very young at the time, you could say I was a child, and really today I am a man so there is a big difference," he said.
"It prevented me from going further in the Brazil team. But I learned a lot from this moment.
"Now I always try to be calm on the pitch and not speak back to the referee. It taught me an important lesson."
Fernando added: "I was playing well, I was in the Brazilian team and it was something that really marked my career.
"Obviously, that has prevented me from going further in the Brazil team. I don't think that's the only reason, but I think that was a big factor."
