José Fonte facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is da Rocha and the second or paternal family name is Fonte.

Quick facts for kids
José Fonte

Fonte playing for Portugal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Personal information

Date of birth

22 December 1983 (age 41)

Place of birth

Penafiel, Portugal

Height

1.91 m

Playing position

Centre-back

Club information

Current club

Casa Pia

Number

Youth career

1991–1994

Penafiel

1994–2002

Sporting CP

1997–2000

→ Sacavenense (loan)

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

2002–2004

Sporting CP B

(0)

2004–2005

Felgueiras

(1)

2005–2006

Vitória de Setúbal

(0)

2006–2008

Benfica

(0)

2006

→ Paços Ferreira (loan)

(1)

2006–2007

→ Estrela Amadora (loan)

(1)

2007–2008

→ Crystal Palace (loan)

(1)

2008–2010

Crystal Palace

(5)

2010–2017

Southampton

260

(15)

2017–2018

West Ham United

(0)

2018

Dalian Yifang

(0)

2018–2023

Lille

166

(8)

2023–2024

Braga

(0)

2024–

Casa Pia

(0)

National team

2006

Portugal U21

(0)

2006

Portugal B

(0)

2014–2022

Portugal

(1)

Honours


Men's football
Representing Portugal
UEFA European Championship
Winner	2016 France
UEFA Nations League
Winner	2019 Portugal
FIFA Confederations Cup
Third	2017

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 January 2025.

† Appearances (Goals).

José Miguel da Rocha Fonte (born on 22 December 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer. He plays as a centre-back and is the captain for the Primeira Liga club Casa Pia.

Fonte started his career with Sporting CP B in Portugal. He later moved to England to play for Crystal Palace in 2007. In 2010, he joined Southampton, where he played in 288 games. After that, he played for West Ham United in 2017. He also played in China for Dalian Yifang and in France for Lille. With Lille, he helped them win the Ligue 1 title in the 2020–21 season.

José Fonte became a player for the Portuguese national team when he was 30. He was part of the Portugal squads that played in two UEFA European Championships and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He famously won UEFA Euro 2016 with his country.

José Fonte's Club Journey

Starting in Portugal

José Fonte was born in Penafiel, Portugal. He learned to play football at Sporting CP, where he had also played as a young boy. As a senior player, he only played for Sporting CP B in the third division. In 2004, he joined S.C. Salgueiros, but the club had money problems and closed down. He then moved to F.C. Felgueiras in the second division.

In 2005, Fonte played his first game in the top Portuguese league, the Primeira Liga, with Vitória de Setúbal. His good play caught the attention of Benfica, who signed him in January 2006. He was immediately loaned to another team in the league, Paços de Ferreira. He played 26 league games that season and scored one goal. Both Paços and Setúbal stayed in the top league.

Fonte spent the 2006–07 season playing for C.F. Estrela da Amadora on loan. He played almost every league game, helping the club finish ninth in the league.

Playing for Crystal Palace

In July 2007, Fonte moved to England to play for Crystal Palace on loan. He quickly became a regular player because of injuries to other players. His move became permanent at the end of the 2007–08 season. Crystal Palace finished fifth that year and qualified for the play-offs to try and get promoted.

Fonte continued to play regularly for Crystal Palace in the Football League Championship. Sometimes, he even played as a striker when the team needed him to.

Time at Southampton F.C.

Fonte playing for Southampton in 2015

Fonte joined Southampton on 9 January 2010. He signed a contract for three and a half years. He played his first game for Southampton a week later in a 1–1 draw against Millwall. His first goal for the club was on 28 August in a 4–0 win over Bristol Rovers.

Fonte scored seven goals in the league and helped Southampton get promoted to the second division. Because of his great performance, he was named in the League One Team of the Year for the 2010–11 season. He was also voted Southampton's Player of the Year by the fans.

On 29 December 2011, Fonte signed a new contract that kept him at the club until June 2015. Southampton was at the top of the league when he signed. He played in 42 matches that season and scored one goal. This helped the team get promoted for the second time in a row.

Fonte played his first game in the Premier League on 19 August 2012. He played the whole game in a 3–2 loss to Manchester City. He scored his first goals in the Premier League in a 2–2 draw against Fulham on 7 October. On 24 August 2013, he scored a header in the last minute against Sunderland, which helped his team get a draw.

On 8 August 2014, Fonte signed a new three-year deal with Southampton. He was also named the team captain. He played his 250th league game for the club on 16 October 2016, in a 3–1 win against Burnley.

Moving to West Ham United

On 20 January 2017, Fonte joined West Ham United in the Premier League. He signed a contract for two and a half years. He played his first league game on 1 February in a 4–0 loss to Manchester City.

In November 2017, after a match against Crystal Palace, it was confirmed that Fonte had a foot injury. This injury meant he would not be able to play for the rest of the year.

Playing in China and France

Fonte moved to the Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang on 23 February 2018. He left the club on 15 July of the same year.

Fonte (right) playing against Salzburg in the Champions League in 2021

Fonte signed for the French club Lille on 20 July 2018, signing a two-year contract. He played his first game on 18 August in a 0–0 draw against Monaco. He scored his first goal on 22 September in a 2–1 win against Nantes. He also helped set up another goal in that game. On 16 December, he was sent off (given a red card) in a 3–2 win against Nîmes. He missed two games, and Lille finished second in the league that season. He scored three goals, including one in a big 5–1 win over Paris Saint-Germain.

On 9 August 2019, Fonte extended his contract with Lille until 2021. As a 37-year-old captain, he led the team to win the 2020–21 Ligue 1 title. This was their first league title since 2010–11. He played 36 games and scored 3 goals during that season.

After signing another one-year contract, Fonte played in the Trophée des Champions on 1 August 2021. Lille won 1–0 against PSG. He renewed his contract again for the 2022–23 season, after which he left the club.

Recent Clubs: Braga and Casa Pia

On 19 July 2023, Fonte signed a one-year contract with Braga in Portugal.

On 10 July 2024, at 40 years old, Fonte joined another Portuguese team, Casa Pia, on a one-year deal.

José Fonte's International Career

Fonte playing for Portugal at UEFA Euro 2016

Fonte was called up to the Portuguese B squad for a tournament in 2006. He played against Slovenia on 24 January.

On 3 October 2014, when he was almost 31, Fonte was called up to the senior team for the first time. He made his debut in a friendly game on 18 November, playing the second half of a 1–0 win against Argentina.

Manager Fernando Santos chose Fonte for Portugal's Euro 2016 squad. His first game in the tournament was on 25 June against Croatia. Portugal won 1–0 after extra time. He continued to play in every game until the final, where Portugal beat the host country France 1–0 to win the championship.

Fonte was also chosen for the final 23-man squads for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and Portugal's winning campaign in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals. He was also part of the squad for UEFA Euro 2020, but he did not play in any games. On 9 October 2021, at 37 years old, he scored his first goal for the national team in a 3–0 home win against Qatar.

On 24 March 2022, when he was 38, Fonte played his 50th game for Portugal. This was in a World Cup qualifying Play-off match against Turkey. He gave away a penalty in the second half, but the opposing player missed it. Portugal won the game 3–1 and qualified for the next playoff match.

In October 2022, he was named in Portugal's first list of 55 players for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, he was not included in the final squad.

José Fonte's Family Life

José Fonte's younger brother, Rui, is also a footballer. Rui plays as a forward. The two brothers played together at Sporting (when they were younger), Crystal Palace, and Lille. Their father, Artur, also played football in the top Portuguese league for 12 seasons.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sporting CP B	2002–03	Segunda Divisão B	22	0	—		—		—		—		22	0
	2003–04	Segunda Divisão B	37	0	—		—		—		—		37	0
	Total		59	0	—		—		—		—		59	0
Felgueiras	2004–05	Segunda Liga	28	1	1	0	—		—		—		29	1
Vitória de Setúbal	2005–06	Primeira Liga	15	0	0	0	—		2	0	—		17	0
Benfica	2005–06	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	2006–07	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	2007–08	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
Paços de Ferreira (loan)	2005–06	Primeira Liga	11	1	0	0	—		—		—		11	1
Estrela da Amadora (loan)	2006–07	Primeira Liga	25	1	2	0	—		—		—		27	1
Crystal Palace (loan)	2007–08	Championship	22	1	1	0	1	0	—		2	0	26	1
Crystal Palace	2008–09	Championship	38	4	2	0	1	0	—		—		41	4
	2009–10	Championship	22	1	1	0	2	0	—		0	0	25	1
	Total		82	6	4	0	4	0	—		2	0	92	6
Southampton	2009–10	League One	21	0	0	0	0	0	—		3	0	24	0
	2010–11	League One	43	7	2	0	2	0	—		1	0	48	7
	2011–12	Championship	42	1	1	0	1	0	—		—		44	1
	2012–13	Premier League	27	2	1	0	0	0	—		—		28	2
	2013–14	Premier League	36	3	1	0	1	0	—		—		38	3
	2014–15	Premier League	37	0	3	0	4	0	—		—		44	0
	2015–16	Premier League	37	2	1	0	1	0	4	0	—		43	2
	2016–17	Premier League	17	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	—		19	0
	Total		260	15	9	0	11	0	4	0	4	0	288	15
West Ham United	2016–17	Premier League	16	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		16	0
	2017–18	Premier League	8	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		8	0
	Total		24	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		24	0
Dalian Yifang	2018	Chinese Super League	7	0	2	0	—		—		—		9	0
Lille	2018–19	Ligue 1	36	3	2	0	0	0	—		—		38	3
	2019–20	Ligue 1	25	1	2	1	2	0	4	0	—		33	2
	2020–21	Ligue 1	36	3	1	0	—		6	0	—		43	3
	2021–22	Ligue 1	38	0	2	0	—		8	0	1	0	49	0
	2022–23	Ligue 1	31	1	2	0	—		—		—		33	1
	Total		166	8	9	1	2	0	18	0	1	0	196	9
Braga	2023–24	Primeira Liga	19	0	2	0	4	0	8	0	—		33	0
Casa Pia	2024–25	Primeira Liga	12	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		13	0
Career total			688	32	30	1	21	0	32	0	7	0	798	33