 Fernando made his debut with the main squad on 15 January 1984 in a 1–2 away loss against Real Valladolid, after moving up from the B-side CD Mestalla.He truly came to the forefront in 1986–87 as the team won promotion back from Segunda División at the first attempt; aside from this campaign he spent all of his spell with Valencia in the top flight, where he twice finished second in the championship, also helping to a runner-up finish in the Copa del Rey of 1995.Fernando won the "Don Balón"'s "Best Spanish Player Award" for 1988–89, and broke into the Spanish national team later that year.