Rui Fonte

Early years and Arsenal

Fonte was born in Penafiel, and joined Sporting CP's youth system at only 9. In 2006 he signed a three-year deal 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. 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. On 30 January 2009, Fonte joined 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. He made his debut for his new team in a 0–1 home defeat to Blackpool on the following day, and his loan was subsequently extended until the end of the season; Palace were docked a point and fined £20,000 for fielding him in their final match, despite his loan having expired. 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. 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 as they barely escaped relegation; during his stint, he paid the wages of people connected to the organisation due to…

Fonte made his debut for the Portugal under-21s against Spain on 18 November 2008, scoring the first goal in a 4–1 victory. The following summer, he was part of the team that took silver in the Lusofonia Games, scoring a penalty in a 4–1 win over Angola on the final day. On 31 March 2015, Fonte was called up to the full side for the first time, remaining on the bench in the 2–0 friendly defeat to Cape Verde in Estoril.

As of match played 30 June 2019

Fonte's older brother, José, was also a footballer – a defender, he spent most of his professional career in England, and the two were teammates at Sporting (youth), Crystal Palace and Lille. Their father Artur played 12 seasons in the Portuguese top division.