Jaime Marta Soares urges tribute for player who left Sporting | OneFootball

Rui Patrício has officially ended his sports career at the age of 37. Jaime Marta Soares, former president of the General Assembly of Sporting, closely followed the entire process of the player's departure from Alvalade and does not accept that the dedication of the Portuguese international be questioned, arguing that he should be honored.

"I was with him at that very difficult moment and I can guarantee that Rui Patrício cried like a child out of love for Sporting. People have memories and I know well what he went through in such a complicated moment. Anyone who knows Rui knows he is a gem, a humble, family-oriented guy who deserves the respect of Sporting's supporters," said the former official to the newspaper 'Record'.

Jaime Marta Soares also explains that, despite the troubled exit after the attack on the Academy, the former player always gave everything for Sporting: "I think that if Sporting does not do it, it will be an injustice because Rui never did anything to harm the Club. It is only fair to pay him tribute," he said.

After the news broke, the green and white club made a post on its official social media channels, recalling the goalkeeper's time at Sporting: "He played 467 times with the Lion on his chest, the second player in history to have had that responsibility the most. Good luck in this new stage, Rui Patrício." Despite the short message, there were several comments expressing dissatisfaction from the fans (Learn more HERE).

The former 'number 1' of Sporting terminated his contract with the Lions after the invasion of the Academy and ended up signing for Wolverhampton, where he spent three seasons (2018/2019, 2019/2020, and 2020/2021), before moving to Roma in 2021/22.

Rui Patrício unhappy in the last game before the invasion of Alcochete:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.