Rui Fonte

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.

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. 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 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. 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 game, 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 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, and ten in a 0–1 loss to Real Madrid also at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, two months later.

On 14 July 2011, Fonte signed permanently for Espanyol for two years. 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– he also netted in the second leg, albeit in a 1–2 and 4–4 aggregate loss; in between he scored his first goal in the league, closing the scoresheet in a 3–0 home success over Granada CF.

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. 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.

In January 2015, Jorge Jesus confirmed that Fonte was promoted to Benfica's first team after the loan of Nélson Oliveira. 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.

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

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. The following 22 May, after being injured for nearly three months, he started in the final of the domestic cup, netting in a 2–2 draw against FC Porto (4–2 penalty shootout win).

Braga

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

Fonte made his debut for the Portuguese under-21s against Spain on 18 November 2008, scoring the first goal in a 4–1 victory. 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.

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.

As of 29 April 2012

Benfica

• Taça da Liga: 2014–15
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2016

Braga

• Taça de Portugal: 2015–16