Rui Fonte

Rui Pedro da Rocha Fonte (born 23 April 1990) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward or a right winger for G.D. Estoril Praia.

After signing for Arsenal as a 16-year-old, he only made one competitive appearance for the club before signing with Sporting, who loaned him several times for the duration of his contract, including at Espanyol who acquired him permanently in 2011. He subsequently joined Benfica, where injury problems saw him feature sparingly until his release; with his next team, Braga, he notably won the 2016 Portuguese Cup.

All youth levels comprised, Fonte earned 69 caps for Portugal, scoring 26 goals.

Club Career

Early years and Arsenal

Fonte was born in Lisbon, and joined Sporting CP's youth system at only nine. 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 Jose 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 Vitoria de Setubal, making his Primeira Liga debut on 17 August in a 0–0 home draw against Vitori