Rui Fonte

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Rocha and the second or paternal family name is Fonte.
Rui Fonte
Personal information
Full name Rui Pedro da Rocha Fonte
Date of birth (1990-04-23) 23 April 1990
Place of birth Penafiel, Portugal
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Forward / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Braga
Number 17
Youth career
1998–1999 Sacavenense
1999–2006 Sporting CP
2006–2009 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Arsenal 0 (0)
2009 → Crystal Palace (loan) 10 (0)
2009–2011 Sporting CP 0 (0)
2009–2010 → Vitória Setúbal (loan) 12 (0)
2010–2011 → Espanyol B (loan) 22 (8)
2010–2011 → Espanyol (loan) 11 (0)
2011–2013 Espanyol 29 (1)
2013–2015 Benfica B 26 (18)
2013–2016 Benfica 0 (0)
2015 → Belenenses (loan) 12 (2)
2015–2016 → Braga (loan) 15 (4)
2016– Braga 4 (2)
National team
2005–2006 Portugal U16 12 (3)
2006–2007 Portugal U17 13 (2)
2008 Portugal U18 5 (3)
2008–2009 Portugal U19 12 (8)
2010 Portugal U20 5 (2)
2008–2012 Portugal U21 22 (8)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 November 2016.


Rui Pedro da Rocha Fonte (born 23 April 1990) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for S.C. Braga as either a forward or right winger.

Club career

Early years / Arsenal

Fonte was born in Penafiel, and joined Sporting Clube de Portugal's youth system at only nine. In 2006 he signed a three-year contract with Arsenal, with a clause stating he was to return to his previous club if the English did not extend the contract beyond the original period.

A regular member of Arsenal's reserves, Fonte made his debut for the first team in a friendly against Barnet in the 2008 pre-season.[1] He made his competitive debut for the Gunners as a substitute for Carlos Vela in a League Cup match against Wigan Athletic on 11 November 2008, a 3–0 home win.[2]

On 30 January 2009, Fonte signed for Football League Championship side Crystal Palace on a one-month loan, with his older brother José playing a big role in persuading club and player of each other's merits.[3] He made his debut for his new team in a 0–1 home defeat to Blackpool on the following day,[4] and his loan was subsequently extended until the end of the season;[5] Palace were docked a point and fined £20,000 for fielding him in their final game, despite his loan having expired.[6]

On 19 May 2009, it was announced that Arsenal had decided not to extend Fonte's three-year contract, and the player returned to Sporting.[7] He spent the 2009–10 campaign on loan to Vitória de Setúbal, making his Primeira Liga debut on 17 August in a 0–0 home draw against Vitória de Guimarães (one minute played), and appearing sparingly during the campaign as the Sadinos barely escaped relegation.

Espanyol

Fonte played 2010–11 on loan to RCD Espanyol, in Spain. He spent the vast majority of his spell with the reserves, his first La Liga appearances consisting of one minute in a 1–0 home win over Sporting de Gijón on 5 December 2010,[8] and ten in a 0–1 loss to Real Madrid also at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, two months later.[9]

On 14 July 2011, Fonte signed permanently for Espanyol for two years.[10][11] On 17 January of the following year he scored his first official goal for the Pericos, in a 3–2 home win against CD Mirandés for the season's Copa del Rey[12]– he also netted in the second leg, albeit in a 1–2 and 4–4 aggregate loss;[13] in between he scored his first goal in the league, closing the scoresheet in a 3–0 home success over Granada CF.[14]

Benfica

On 29 January 2013, Fonte terminated his contract with Espanyol and, on the next day, signed with S.L. Benfica on a five-and-a-half-year contract.[15][16] He was initially assigned to the B-team in the Segunda Liga, suffering a knee injury in his debut against C.F. União and being sidelined for the rest of the campaign.[17][18]

In January 2015, Jorge Jesus confirmed that Fonte was promoted to Benfica's first team after the loan of Nélson Oliveira.[19] His first competitive appearance took place on the 14th, as he played the first half of the 4–0 home win against F.C. Arouca for the third round of the Taça da Liga.[20]

On 2 February 2015, Fonte, at the time second level top scorer for Benfica B with 17 goals in 21 games,[21] was loaned to C.F. Os Belenenses, until the end of the season.[22][23] For 2015–16, in the same predicament, he joined S.C. Braga also in the top level.[24]

On 16 December 2015, after having replaced Wilson Eduardo for the last 11 minutes of regulation time, Fonte scored the 4–3 winner for the hosts against Sporting, helping oust his former club from the Taça de Portugal.[25] The following 22 May, after being injured for nearly three months,[26] he started in the final of the domestic cup, netting in a 2–2 draw against FC Porto (4–2 penalty shootout win).[27]

Braga

On 1 September 2016, Fonte signed a three-year contract with Braga.[28]

International career

Fonte made his debut for the Portuguese under-21s against Spain on 18 November 2008, scoring the first goal in a 4–1 victory.[29] He was called up to the full side for the first time on 31 March 2015 for a friendly with Cape Verde, remaining on the bench in the 0–2 defeat in Estoril.[30]

Personal life

Fonte's older brother, José, is also a footballer. A defender, he played most of his professional career in England, and the two were teammates at Sporting (youth) and Crystal Palace.[31]

Club statistics

As of 29 April 2012[32]
Club Season League Cup[33] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2008–09 Premier League 001010
Crystal Palace 2008–09 Championship 10000100
Setúbal 2009–10 Primeira Liga 13040170
Espanyol 2010–11 La Liga 11000110
2011–12 17132203
Total 28132313
Career total 51182593

Honours

Benfica
Braga

References

  1. ↑ "Barnet 1–2 Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  2. ↑ Harris, Chris (11 November 2008). "Arsenal 3–0 Wigan Athletic". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  3. ↑ "Palace sign Arsenal striker Fonte". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "Crystal Palace 0–1 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "Crystal Palace extend Fonte loan". BBC Sport. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  6. ↑ "Crystal Palace get point penalty and fine for fielding Arsenal's Rui Fonte". Daily Mail. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "Rui Fonte returns to Sporting". PortuGOAL. 19 May 2009.
  8. ↑ "Garcia rescues Espanyol". ESPN Soccernet. 5 December 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Ten-man Real grind out win". ESPN Soccernet. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Firma por dos años" [Signs for two years] (in Spanish). Fichajes. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Rui Fonte: "Estoy feliz por firmar por dos años"" [Rui Fonte: "I am delighted to have signed for two years"] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Asalto frustrado a Cornellá" [Frustrated assault on Cornellá] (in Spanish). Marca. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "El milagro de Anduva" [Miracle in Anduva] (in Spanish). Marca. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "Baena sets Espanyol on their way". ESPN Soccernet. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "Oficial: Rui Fonte rescindiu com o Espanhol" [Official: Rui Fonte rescinded with Espanyol] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  16. ↑ "Rui Fonte assina por cinco épocas e meia" [Rui Fonte signs for five-and-a-half seasons] (in Portuguese). Record. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "Benfica B vence 4x1, Rui Fonte lesiona-se na estreia" [Benfica B wins 4x1, Rui Fonte injured in debut] (in Portuguese). Zerozero. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "Rui Fonte, cinco meses de baja tras lesionarse en una rodilla" [Rui Fonte, five months out after injuring knee] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "Jorge Jesus: "Homenagear Eusébio pela referência que foi"" [Jorge Jesus: "Pay hommage to Eusébio for the reference he was"] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Benfica goleia Arouca na Taça da Liga" [Benfica routs Arouca in League Cup] (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Rui Fonte e Gonçalo Paciência: O Europeu em ponto de mira" [Rui Fonte and Gonçalo Paciência: Sights set on European Championships] (in Portuguese). Record. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "Contratos de trabalho desportivo e contratos de formação desportiva recepcionados na Liga Portugal dia 02 de Fevereiro de 2015" [Sporting work contracts and sporting training contracts registered at Liga Portugal on 02 February 2015] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  23. ↑ "Rui é reforço" [Rui Fonte is an addition] (in Portuguese). A Bola. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  24. ↑ "Rui Fonte reforça o plantel do SC Braga" [Rui Fonte strengthens SC Braga squad] (in Portuguese). SC Braga. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  25. ↑ "Taça: Braga deixa Sporting para trás" [Cup: Braga leave Sporting behind] (in Portuguese). Expresso. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  26. ↑ "Rui Fonte e Pedro Santos regressam" [Rui Fonte and Pedro Santos return] (in Portuguese). S.C. Braga. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Sp. Braga vence Taça de Portugal" [Sp. Braga wins Portuguese Cup] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "Rui Fonte é reforço do SC Braga" [Rui Fonte is a SC Braga addition] (in Portuguese). S.C. Braga. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  29. ↑ Portugal plunder Iberian bragging rights; UEFA.com, 18 November 2008
  30. ↑ "Portugal 0–2 Cape Verde Islands". BBC Sport. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "Palace sign Arsenal striker Fonte". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  32. ↑ "Rui Fonte". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  33. ↑ Includes FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield
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