A product of Sporting CP's youth academy, Patrício made his first team debut at the age of 18, and went on to appear in 467 official games. He won five trophies during his twelve years with the club, including two Portuguese Cups, before moving to England to join Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018. In 2021, he signed for Roma, where he won the Europa Conference League in his first season.
Born in the village of Marrazes in Leiria,[7] Patrício played as a striker at a young age. Reportedly, a Sporting CP scout was in the area and saw him play in goal, being impressed enough to sign the 12-year-old to the club's youth academy.[8] He made his Primeira Liga debut on 19 November 2006, in a 1–0 away win against Marítimo in the tenth round: standing in for habitual club and country first-choice Ricardo, he saved a penalty kick 15 minutes before the end of the game.[9]
In the qualifying rounds of the 2009–10 Champions League, at Twente, Sporting were trailing 0–1 in the 94th minute, after a 0–0 tie in the first leg: Patrício rushed to the opposing area for a corner kick, where he went up for a header with Nikita Rukavytsya. Both players seemed to make contact with the ball, and it was helped into the net for an own goal via the boot of Peter Wisgerhof as the latter side qualified for the last games prior to the group stage.[13]
On 20 December 2012, Patrício was awarded Sporting's Footballer of the Year award for a second consecutive year.[14] On 18 October 2014, with the score at 2–1 for his team, he saved a penalty by Jackson Martínez to help oust Porto from the Taça de Portugal with a 3–1 win at the Estádio do Dragão.[15]
Patrício was one of 30 players nominated for the 2016 Ballon d'Or award alongside Portugal teammates Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo.[16] On 18 February the following year he appeared in his 400th competitive game with Sporting, putting on a Player of the match performance in a 1–0 home win against Rio Ave.[17]
On 15 May 2018, Patrício and several of his teammates, including coaches, were injured following an attack by around 50 supporters of Sporting at the club's training ground after the team finished third in the league and missed out on Champions League qualification.[18][19] Despite the events, he and the rest of the team agreed to play in the Portuguese Cup final scheduled for the following weekend,[20] eventually losing 2–1 to Aves.[21]
Patrício's record of 467 official games was the second-highest in Sporting's history, behind only Hilário da Conceição.[22]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 1 June 2018, Patrício submitted a request to terminate his Sporting contract with grounds for just cause, due to the dressing room violence from supporters as well as seeing an €18 million move to newly promoted Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers fall through, after Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho pulled out of negotiations at the last minute.[23][24] He completed the move on 18 June, on a four-year deal,[25] and it was announced on 31 October that both clubs had agreed a €18 million deal as settlement of his departure to England.[26]
Patrício opted to wear the No.11 shirt for Wolves as opposed to the habitual No.1, in honour of Carl Ikeme, who had just retired following treatment for acute leukaemia.[27] He made his league debut on 11 August 2018, in a 2–2 home draw against Everton.[28] He kept nine clean sheets – a club record – as they finished his first season in seventh place and qualified for the Europa League.[29]
In 2019–20, Patrício increased his number of clean sheets to 13, and conceded 40 goals compared to 46 the season before. On the European front, he helped the team to a first continental quarter-final since 1972.[29] On 19 February 2021, he played his 100th Premier League match in a 1–0 win over Leeds United.[29]
Although not part of the provisional 24-player list for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa,[39][40] Patrício was named in a backup list of six players.[41] He made his debut on 17 November 2010, playing the second half of a 4–0 friendly win against Spain.[42]
After Eduardo was relegated to the bench at his new club, Benfica, Patrício became the starter under national team boss Paulo Bento, and both players finished the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with five games (450 minutes) as Portugal qualified for the final stages. He was the starter in the finals in Poland and Ukraine, conceding four goals in five matches in an eventual semi-final exit.[43]
Patrício was included in Bento's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as first-choice,[44] and made his debut in the competition in the first encounter against Germany, which ended with a 0–4 loss.[45] He missed the second game against the United States, due to injury.[46]
Patrício married Joana Pereira in June 2011, after a seven-year relationship. He filed for divorce on 24 December of the same year, aged 23.[56] As of 2019, he is married to television sexologist Vera Ribeiro, with whom he has a son and a daughter.[57]
^Though there was no third place playoff, UEFA decided in the 2012 edition to award the semi-final losers (Germany and Portugal) bronze medals for the first time: "Regulations for UEFA Euro 2012"
^"Guarda-redes Rui Patrício falha 'onze' em qualificação quase uma década depois" [Goalkeeper Rui Patrício misses 'starting XI' in qualification after nearly a decade] (in Portuguese). Notícias de Leiria. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2022. Natural de Marrazes, Leiria, onde nasceu em 15 de fevereiro de 1988 [A native of Marrazes, Leiria, where he was born on 15 February 1988]
^Roseiro, Bruno (17 June 2008). "Rui Patrício por Toldo" [Rui Patrício for Toldo]. Record (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 9 August 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
^Gouveia, Ricardo (1 June 2018). "Rui Patrício: sai o jogador, fica uma lenda" [Rui Patrício: the player leaves, the legend remains] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
^Oliveira, Sara (11 November 2019). "Mulher de Rui Patrício quebra tabus na TV" [Rui Patrício's wife breaks taboos on TV]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 June 2022.
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