ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ says the player he dropped after sweeping Sporting’s academy doesn’t deserve to be in goalkeeper: “It’s a difficult decision”

Coach Roberto Martinez revealed that Rui Patricio is not Portugal’s number one goalkeeper. And the Spanish coach spoke at the press conference about a prior offer to duel with Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the third round of the 2024 European Championship qualifiers, and talked about the former Sporting player.

In response to a question about the continuity of the goalkeeper in the Portuguese goal, after he defended the Portuguese net against Liechtenstein (4-0) and Luxembourg (6-0), Martinez was categorical and confirmed that the “number one” is Diogo Costa.

It’s a difficult decision. Rui Patricio was perfect in the March training. It’s very important in the dressing room, but I like to be clear in the goalkeeper position. It’s a different situation than others. Diogo is number one, Rui second and Jose Sa third,” explained the coach.

Rui Patricio made 467 appearances for the Lions and terminated his contract at the end of the 2018 season, after the conquest of the Accademia de Alcochete. He ended up signing with Wolverhampton, the club where he spent three seasons (2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021).

In 2022/23, he completed his second season serving Roma under Jose Mourinho.