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The interlude at UAE club Al-Ain FC remains the last stop for Portuguese goalkeeping legend Rui Patrício. On Wednesday the association announced that the 37-year-old had ended his active career. The 2016 European champions will be bid farewell to the big football stage with a ceremony in Lisbon on Friday.
Patrício made 108 international appearances for Portugal – the most ever by a goalkeeper in the Iberian national jersey. Only six players, led by record holder Cristiano Ronaldo, were used more often for selection. The last time Patrício stood between the posts for his home country, with whom he also won the Nations League in 2019, was in March 2024 against Sweden (5:2). His parade in the 2016 European Championship final against French final opponent Antoine Griezmann was immortalized in a statue in his hometown of Leiria.
At club level, Patrício played the most games for Sporting. 467 appearances are also a club record for the Lisbon club. Patrício won the Portuguese Cup twice with the Leões. He was successful in the European Cup late in his career with AS Roma, where he won the Conference League in 2022. With his move to the Italian capital in 2018 and before that the transfer from Sporting to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018, almost 30 million euros flowed in transfer fees for the goalkeeper. His last stop in Europe was Atalanta Bergamo. With Al-Ain he only appeared in the Club World Cup this year.