“This is a significant day in my life. This was the right time to do it and I’m very happy. I made the decision to leave football because that’s what I want now," said Rui Patricio.
"I could have kept playing. I had offers, but I wanted to stop now. I started very young, at 18, at the top level, and now I want to do other things. It was a well-thought-out decision.”
The now former goalkeeper, who with Portugal won Euro 2016, the 2019 Nations League, and became the country’s most-capped goalkeeper with 108 appearances, was speaking to journalists after the ceremony held at Cidade do Futebol, the headquarters of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), in Oeiras.
Patricio, who at club level played for Sporting, Wolves, Roma, Atalanta and Al Ain, left at the FPF museum the boots and gloves he wore in the Euro 2016 final in Paris, and received from president Pedro Proenca the federation’s medal of merit, as well as a trophy and a shirt marking his 108 international caps.
“I’ll stay connected to football, but now I want to enjoy what I missed during my career, which is spending time with my family and children. I want to make the most of it. After being here, for example, I’ll go to my kids’ Christmas party, something I couldn’t do before,” he said.
For Patricio, the highlight of his career came in the Euro 2016 final at the Stade de France, when he made a crucial save from a Griezmann header, keeping the score at 0-0 at the time, before Eder’s unforgettable goal in extra time (1-0).
“That was the most important moment because of everything that followed. It was the save in my career that had the biggest impact. I end my career proud. I played where I needed to play, I played what I needed to play,” he concluded.
For now, according to Pedro Proenca, who dubbed the former goalkeeper a legend, Patricio will remain involved with the FPF in other roles.
His farewell ceremony featured videos of the best moments of his career, and was attended by his family as well as former national team teammates like Adrien, Daniel Carrico, Marco Caneira, Ricardo and Eder.
Watching side by side with the current national team coach Roberto Martinez were Fernando Santos and Paulo Bento, all of whom managed Patricio with the national team.
Bento, who was also in charge at Sporting, was the coach who gave the former goalkeeper his professional debut and was also the one who first picked Patricio for Portugal.
“At the time, we knew we were dealing with someone with tremendous technical, tactical, physical, emotional and mental qualities. His work ethic and professionalism were outstanding. That’s what allowed him to build such an extraordinary career,” Bento told reporters.
Santos, who with Rui Patricio won Euro 2016 and the 2019 Nations League, admitted that he was one of the best goalkeepers he worked with during his coaching career.
“He had a remarkable career and was crucial in winning the European Championship and Nations League as a goalkeeper. But he was even more important as a person and for what he represented within the group, with his humility, determination and spirit of sacrifice. He was one of the team’s leaders during my time,” he said.
Patricio had been without a club since the end of June, when he left Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates.