Fresneda, who spent time at Real Madrid and Leganes, first caught the eye at Valladolid and then of Ruben Amorim, under whom he failed to establish himself at Sporting.
From a shoulder injury to an unprecedented three goals in 2024/2025, Fresneda reveals to Flashscore the "work in the shadows" he did to get back to his best. What's more, he talks about the uncertainty he felt in the January transfer window and his individual and collective goals for the short and medium-term future.
You didn't get many minutes under Ruben Amorim, but things have been changing with Rui Borges. What didn't go well with Amorim? Adaptation to Portuguese football? His approach?
"For me, I think it was a combination of factors that happened at the time. When I arrive at Sporting I arrive with a lot of illusion, very happy to sign for such a great team. All the players who come to this team never realise how big this club is in Portugal.
"I arrived without realising the pressure of representing a club as big as Sporting. I arrived, started getting some minutes in training, in games, but with a sort of shoulder injury, with a pain that was preventing me from doing things properly. I'd end training very frustrated because I felt I wasn't getting things done, I wasn't demonstrating the level I'd always had.
"One thing led to another, and I also think that game in the Europa League against Atalanta was a turning point, where I realised it wasn't working, my shoulder wasn't working. I was in a lot of pain, in that goal we conceded I didn't even try to collide my shoulder with the left-back because I couldn't do it.
"After that it was off to training, talking to the doctor, trying to find the best way. I also spoke to Ruben Amorim, and he and his assistants and fitness coaches tried to help me with that, always trying to do some work before training, always trying to help me lose that fear I had about my shoulder. But I think that above that it wasn't just a pain, a fear, I think it was also a serious enough problem that I had to correct it.
"I spoke to the doctor and he also realised that the best way was to have an operation. After the operation, it was three months, three months in which I tried to work as hard as possible to get back quickly and when I came back the team was at a very high level.
"It was difficult for me to get back into the team. I've always had a very good relationship with everyone, but the level the whole team was at was higher than the one I reached after the injury. I've always tried to work hard, to earn more minutes, but I also fully understand the coach's idea. I had the team, I had the eleven that was responding."
Didn't you feel the pressure, the ghost of Pedro Porro, who played on the right flank before you and even in a back three?
"With regard to Pedro Porro, in my mind, I've never made that kind of comparison. Porro is a fantastic player, who is now at an incredible level in the Spanish national team. I've never tried to compare myself to Pedro (Porro) but yes, that change from centre-back to the three-man line was also a bit strange for me, I never felt comfortable in that line.
"The coach realised that, and in the last few days before he left he put me back in training in my right wing position. But that's it, it was a combination of factors, my shoulder and also the level of the team at that time, the fact that the coach realised that maybe there were better players than me at that time.
"I think I deserved more minutes at the time, but I also think it was a very good learning experience for me. It's the difficult moments that make you stronger, where you learn more, how to work with yourself, and that's what I did all this time. It's been a difficult season and a half for me, but I've also learnt a lot, improved a lot as a player and learnt to work in a different way.
"Nobody sees it, because you're not playing, but the hardest part, the part you have to value in a player, is when he has injuries, when he's not doing so well and has to work in the shadows. People only look at the end result, but the fact that I'm now having that... I don't like to call it luck, but helping the team, with assists, with goals, is a reflection of all the work I've done in the past.
"With Ruben Amorim, with the short period with Joao Pereira, I always worked hard in the shadows and always tried to do my best when I got minutes. It's not easy when you don't play much, when you have five minutes you're very anxious, you want to do a lot and you end up doing nothing. But it's been a great learning experience. Very difficult, but I always try to take the positives with me."
There was talk of you leaving for Como in January. You stayed, but how did you deal with that uncertainty?
"It's obviously not easy, especially when you don't know what you're going to face in the future, but that's also the beautiful thing about football, it changes from one day to the next. I've always tried to work, I've always tried to do it well and it was the same in the winter market.
"I've always tried to be relaxed, to talk to my teammates, to enjoy myself. Because if it had been the last few days, I would have enjoyed it. I did everything as normal. In football, in sport, in life in general, the mental aspect is one of the most important things.
"And you also have to know how to manage your thoughts, always try to look on the bright side. When everything is good, you know that there will come a more difficult time, when you have to become mentally strong to deal with it."
Your current form is good: Three goals scored, your first three as a professional player. Is this the player that we will see going forward?
"I hope and believe that you'll see an even better Fresneda in the future. You always have to try to improve, I only compare myself to myself, and maybe now those goals are coming in, but also if you look at my stats at Valladolid and with Spain, I've only had one assist with the Spanish national team but I've always had a lot of attacking ability.
"Sometimes things don't come off, now they all seem to. That's the good thing about football and I think there will be even better things to come in the future. I still need to get more assists, more goals. Viktor (Gyokeres) annoys me every day that I haven't given him an assist yet.
"I want to get to that level where I always help the team, whether it's with goals, assists or keeping the goal to zero. Everything counts for me, from offence to defence. When you keep a clean sheet you're always closer to winning."
Could we say that the current Fresneda, under Rui Borges, is more like the one that people knew from Spanish football?
"Yes, possibly yes. Now I'm getting better and better, confidence is also very important and it's getting higher and higher. From now on I'll try to get better and better and I believe that in the future people will see a much better Ivan Fresneda."
There was a phase this season when Sporting had a lot of injuries and the team dropped many points that ended up shrinking the gap with Benfica. Is the worst over?
"The truth is that in that respect, yes. It was a difficult period for us because we had a lot of players out, but at that time we also realised the strength of this team. When those who weren't playing came on, like me, trying to do their best, the team responded.
"You could see the team's squad there, the youth team, the under-23s, the level they have. It's been a difficult few weeks, we've lost a lot of players, but it's also been a nice moment for people to realise that the Sporting Academy has a lot of talent, with players who have helped us a lot in training and in matches.
"All the players are important in this journey, everyone has to give their all if we want to be two-time champions."
Have you been surprised by the quality of Sporting's academy?
"Yes, of course I was. For me, all the players or almost all the players I've seen play in the first team, whether in training or especially in matches, is incredible.
"You can see the level of (Geovany) Quenda, the kid Joao Simoes, who's now injured, (Eduardo) Felicissimo, Brito, all the players who are doing a great job at Sporting will be rewarded in the future. There's a very high standard in Sporting's academy and we'll see even more in the future."
Sporting youngster Geovany Quenda has already been sold to Chelsea, although he'll stay with Sporting for another year. Were you surprised by his rapid rise?
"I have a very good relationship with Quenda, I'm 20 and he's 17. Because of our age, we also have that relationship. And I was surprised, of course. All you have to do is watch the training sessions, stay here for a week and see what that kid does, you'd go mad.
"Chelsea's interest doesn't surprise anyone at the club. Quenda is going to be big in the future. This season, next season and from now on. He's going to be something to talk about."
And Viktor Gyokeres? Is he the same in training as he is in matches, an unstoppable goalscoring machine?
"Always, always. Even now, when with the national teams we're training four or five first-team players and he always needs more. He always needs to score goals, he gets frustrated if he doesn't. He's a machine in games, in training, in life. He's a star from another world."
Your other teammate Conrad Harder has said that he's on another level...
"Yes, he is. He's a very complete player because he's physically strong, he's fast, he's powerful, he's got a shot, but that's not all. The quality he has, his height, his physical strength. You try to find a player like that and in today's football, I don't see many like him, who are so physically strong and then have quality."
So it's no surprise that half the world is chasing Gyokeres?
"Not at all, no. He's always the same. What people see in the game is what we see in training. A lot of people have talked about him and nothing changes, he's the same every day."
You arrived in Portugal and were crowned champions in your first season. How did that title make you feel and what would it be like to do the encore?
"Last season's title was incredible. I'd never seen so many people together in one city. It was incredible, a unique feeling. To be champions for a second time would be even better. We're already talking about leaving a legacy at Sporting after just two seasons here. It's what I've always dreamed of since I arrived here, to triumph at Sporting, and what I try to do every day, with hard work and effort."
Moving to the Champions League, Sporting got 11 points in the league phase. You got through to the playoffs and gave every impression that beating Borussia Dortmund was possible. What went wrong?
"We've been over that, of course. I believe we're good enough to beat these kinds of teams. I think we had everything to win. In the first half, we had chances to make it 1-0 and when we went in the second half and conceded that goal, I think the team lost confidence.
"And then 0-2, and from then on the team dropped off a lot. The first half was very good, I really believed we could win that game. We also played a good game in Germany, but I think the mentality was different, given the result of the first leg."
Leagues, cups, European competitions, national teams... The overload of games has increased the number of injuries in all teams. How do you deal with the constant matches?
"Nowadays football is increasingly physical, it's no longer just about the quality that each player has. It goes beyond that. Physically, players have to be very well prepared. The people who run football, I think what they want is to give the public more games, to make more money from football, but it's not good to overload the players. You lose fantastic players.
"Losing a season of Rodri, of Militao, costs a lot. For the public it's worse, everyone likes to see the best players and the best physically. The more games there are, the more likely there are to be injuries."
You are an Under-18 and Under-19 international for Spain, with a total of 15 caps. Is it appropriate to start thinking about La Roja next?
"Yes, of course. It's a goal for me. It's the most beautiful thing in the world to represent your national team. It's very important to me and it would be a dream to represent the Spanish national team again.
"It would be a dream and I believe that one day I'll get it, I'll have that chance and I'll have to be ready. I'm trying to get better and better, to be at an even higher level so that I can get that chance."
Is Sporting the ideal club to reach that level?
"It's a club that's big enough and important enough, not only in Portuguese football but also in European football. I really believe that everyone watches Sporting matches. If they don't, I'm the only Spaniard at Sporting, but it's a very good team and I really believe that if I do a good job here I'll get that chance."
At this point, do you feel that Sporting is your home? Do you want to stay for many years?
"What I think now is that I'm home. I still have a lot to do at Sporting, I still have a lot to show here. I also feel obliged to do so because I arrived and wasn't so lucky in many ways. I believe I still have to do more for Sporting.
"The first goal this season is to win the league, then the Portuguese Cup, where we still have the semi-finals. After that, my goal isn't to play in one place or another but to be the best player I can be within my characteristics.
"For me, the goal has always been to be the best player in my position and that's what I'm going to try to do in the future. When you reach that level, things come quickly. The national team, renewing with Sporting... it'll be up to what I deliver."
Read the full interview with Fresneda in the original Portuguese here.