Rui Patricio: The inside track on the Portuguese star joining Wolves

Before the signing was confirmed we spoke with Nathan Motz, co-author of the book 'A Journey through Portuguese Football', freelance writer Rui Miguel Martins, and Portuguese football writer Jan Hagen, to get a proper look at the shot-stopper and his situation on the continent.

There's obviously some major issues going on at Sporting Lisbon this summer, why has this come on and got Patricio wanting to leave?

Motz: It's not just Rui wanting to leave.

News is breaking (and will continue to break) that most of Sporting's best players are terminating their contracts.

This is to be expected when you have toxic leadership at the helm and the club has been too slow in parting ways with Bruno Carvalho, the president of Sporting.

It's a long story, but the turmoil culminated at the end of the season when a group of armed thugs attacked Sporting players and injuring striker Bas Dost in the process.

Many of the players are refusing to go on after that.

Martins: It is far too complex an issue to discuss here.

But, Rui Patricio graduated from the club's academy. He's a European champion at international level. And he is 30 years old.

It's time for him to leave. He has given most of his life for the club and he deserves a chance to play abroad.

Hagen: There’s not an exaggeration to say that Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho is quite the controversial character.

He has done many things right, among them saving the Portuguese giant from bankruptcy and a certain death when he took over and he made them a force to be reckoned with again after several years in the shadow of Benfica and Porto.

The Sporting president has also restructured the whole finance of the club and he has fought third party ownership and greedy agents with tooth and nails.

However, for everything Bruno de Carvalho has done right, there’s always a controversial statement or action to follow. This time he might have stretched the limit too far. Way too far.

After the Sporting president’s public shaming of his players after their 2-0 loss away to Atlético in the Europa Leauge quarter-final in April, the squad went to their social media accounts airing their frustration and displeasure of the president’s statement.

Bruno de Carvalho then went to the drastic measure of suspending the whole Sporting squad and outing players such as William Carvalho and Rui Patrício as the initiators of the Sporting players’ social media posts and protest.

Bruno also claimed the two Sporting captains had been trying to force their way out of the club for years.

This was the start of a civil war within the club between president, players and fans, culminating in 50 masked men invading Sporting’s training complex, physically attacking players and staff only three days before Os Leões’ cup final against Aves.

That week will forever stand out as one of the worst in the history of Sporting as they lost out on a spot in next season’s Champions League, losing them millions of millions of Euros, the players and technical staff were attacked by their own fans and they were defeated by minnows Aves in the Portuguese cup final.

Afterwards Bruno de Carvalho has been accused of lacking empathy, indirectly claiming the players had themselves to blame for the whole attack, giving Rui Patrício a special mention.

Sporting’s best player of the season Bruno Fernandes claimed in his termination letter to the club that it looked like the president enjoyed his players being attacked and that he was left shocked with the president’s post-attack statements.

Bruno Fernandes is only one of in total six Sporting players that have decided to terminate their contract with the club, alongside other key players such as Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, Gelson Martins, Bas Dost and starlet Daniel Podence.

That’s at least €150 million worth of players out the window for Sporting, which will set the Lisbon side back many years, both financially and sportingly, unless the club wins in court.

How do you rate him as a goalkeeper? He's obviously a big name, but does his quality meet this?

Motz: Honestly, in my opinion he's one of the most underrated keepers in world football.

A European Champion with Portugal, Rui was statistically the top rated keeper in Portugal this season and the No10 rated keeper in all of Europe according to reliable metrics.

He is unspectacular in the sense that he doesn't produce highlight reel saves, but he is extremely reliable and will be a great keeper in the Premier League.

Martins: At this moment, I would put him into the second tier of goalkeepers.

De Gea, Courtois, Neuer, Oblak are the only goalkeepers I would put in front of him.

Patricio would be in the same category as Lloris and Ederson.

Hagen: My honest opinion is that Rui Patrício has long been one of the most underrated goalkeepers in Europe.

Maybe to a less degree after his incredible Euro 2016 performances, which saw him save Portugal time after time as they eventually went on to win the competition, but the Sporting goalkeeper is a superb goalie.

After spending 19 of his 30 years on this planet with Os Leões and after more than 460 official appearances for the club, his eventual move abroad is well-deserved.

I’m convinced Rui Patrício belongs on the list among the world’s 15 best goalkeepers.

He's Portugal's number one goalkeeper, why do you think Wolves is a move which he would like to make? With no disrespect to Nuno's side, would he not prefer a bigger named team?

Motz: Rui has always flown under the radar.

Even after winning Euro 2016 with Portugal he didn't receive many suitors which was surprising given how good he was in France.

There was talk of him moving to Napoli but after the mess with Sporting it's probable that a lot of bigger clubs might not want to deal with the impending lawsuit.

Sporting president Bruno Carvalho has sworn to sue any players who terminate their contracts.

Martins: I don't see it that way.

Wolves is a Premier League club and one that looks to be in an upward trajectory.

Fans today are used to seeing quality players like Mahrez, Shaqiri and Benteke on mid-to-lower seated clubs.

At the very least, it's a great opportunity for Patricio to show he could cut it at this level and in a year or two make a move to a bigger club.

After all, 30 is still young for a goalkeeper. He has a lot of good years left in him.

Hagen: Patrício might have preferred a top four side in Spain or England, but I think Wolverhampton is the perfect fit for Rui’s first adventure abroad.

He will be surrounded by compatriots and Portugal teammates and as Wolves are a newly promoted side there won’t be too much pressure.

In addition, Jorge Mendes will make sure of that his client will be properly compensated for his services.

What kind of goalkeeper can Wolves expect, what are his strengths and weaknesses?

Motz: Dependable post-to-post cover, very few mental errors.

I wrote about him earlier this year and found that he saves more shots per goal allowed than many of the most well respected keepers in football, some of whom ply their trade in the Premier League already.

The one weakness I think he'll have to deal with is not having a shut down defense in front of him.

With the exception of Benfica and FC Porto, many of the teams in the Portuguese league did not possess enough firepower to break down Sporting's defence at will.

This likely won't be the case at Wolves so it'll be interesting to see how well he copes with the added pressure on a match-to-match basis facing world class strikers every week.

Martins: He is a good shot-blocker. And has even developed a reputation for stopping penalties as he did against Poland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

Although, not quite a sweeper-keeper like Ederson or Neuer, he is comfortable with the ball at his feet, owing to him being an outfield player up until his teens.

He used to have problems with crosses but he has worked that out, I think.

Hagen: There are no big weaknesses to Rui Patrício’s goalkeeping.

He long had a reputation of being capable of making mistakes in the bigger games, but that reputation is long gone.

The very odd mistake happens here and there, but that’s something that can be said about most, if not all goalkeepers.

Over the four-five last seasons he has been consistently great for Sporting.

In terms of goalkeeping style, Patrício is more conservative and not the ball-playing standout sweeper-keeper Ederson, with his exceptional technical and passing abilities and spectacular saves, proved to be at Benfica and has been at Manchester City this season.

There’s not much fuss about Rui Patrício, on or off the pitch.

He’s simply just a quietly excellent goalkeeper.

What do you know about the ongoing issues regarding Patricio and his contract dispute with Sporting?

Motz: I know a lawsuit is likely forthcoming as I mentioned.

I also know that it's absurd to expect players to remain in that kind of environment where a tyrannical president insults his players then fails to accept responsibility.

It's a shame that Patricio is leaving on such terms but it's completely understandable.

I honestly don't expect the contractual issues to gain much traction because so many of Sporting's players are also terminating their contracts lending credence to Rui's decision to leave the club.

Martins: Just briefly, he submitted a letter of termination to the club citing his concerns for his personal safety and mental well-being, related to an incident last month at the club's training facility where a band of thugs assaulted several players.

And there is the issue with the club's president Bruno de Carvalho and how he has treated his players. At this point, it does not look like this issue will be resolved anytime soon.

A court will have to agree to uphold Patricio's claim and that will take time.

So, it's a stand-off right now.

Hagen: On the evening of May 31st, after Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho had stopped Rui Patrício’s €18 million move to Wolverhampton from going through in the last minute, the Sporting goalkeeper handed in his 34-page-long termination letter.

Patrício claimed Bruno de Carvalho had assaulted his professional and personal dignity and that the club had been unable to keep him secure, making him fear for his life and the 30-year-old goalie used this as justification for just cause and termination of his deal.

Bruno de Carvallho has announced he will take legal action against the players that have terminated their deals with Sporting.

How long this will drag out in court and whether or not the players’ claims of physical and mental trauma and the fact Sporting failed to keep them safe in their own training complex will be enough for termination remains to be seen.

One thing is certain, though. No one is quite sure what will happen next for the players or Sporting.

Do you think the issues surrounding Sporting strengthen Wolves' hand in trying to bring the goalkeeper in?

Motz: Yes, but this is to their advantage.

Wolves have been extremely fortunate to get their hands on some very talented Portuguese products, Ruben Neves anyone? That kid is destined for the top.

So is Rui, but unlike the former he's not always had the right people advocating for him.

That there are already so many Portuguese at the club doesn't hurt either.

It's been documented how impactful the non-football side of adaptation to a new league can be.

Having a favourable club environment is essential to success.

Martins: I really can't say.

Sporting CP might decide to cut their loses and sell Patricio, perhaps at a reduced cost. Or, just as possible, they will hold firm.

Right now, everything is speculation.

Hagen: I think Rui Patrício was gone for Sporting either way.

Bruno de Carvalho confirmed earlier last month that the Sporting goalkeeper and William Carvalho were next in line to be sold and the fact Rui Patrício appointed Jorge Mendes his agent ahead of this transfer window speaks volumes of how much he wanted a move this summer.

Switching to Mendes didn’t exactly improve the relationship between the Sporting goalkeeper and Bruno de Carvalho as Jorge Mendes is the Sporting president’s public enemy número um.

A disagreement between the two stubborn Portuguese businessmen was what stopped Patrício’s initial €18 million move to Wolverhampton in the end.

If you were to compare Patricio to a current player in the Premier League or world football, who would you pick and why?

Motz: Petr Cech.

Not always spectacular or theatrical like David de Gea but dependable and intelligent, a real asset for any club.

In that sense Cech was underrated I think, just like Rui.

But there's no doubt about it, Rui is a top keeper and Wolves are extraordinarily lucky to have the opportunity to add a European Champion shot-stopper to their squad.

Martins: Hugo Lloris because of his size and added aerial ability. Calm demeanor.

Nathan is also a freelance writer for PortuGOAL and Rui is the editor of The Futebol Factory.

You can follow Nathan, Rui and Jan on Twitter by searching for @nathanmotz, @futebolfactory and @Portuball.