Jose Fonte left West Ham United and joined the Chinese Super League where he played for Dalian Yifang in February 2018 and returned to Europe the same year, signing for Lille in the summer transfer window.
At the Ligue 1 outfit, he is joined by his young brother, Rui Fonte, as the latter moved to Stade Pierre-Mauroy on a season-long loan deal from Fulham.
The former Arsenal academy graduate is a striker, while his elder brother is positioned at the other end of the pitch, as a defender.
Jose and Rui sat down for an interview with French newspaper Le Parisien and during the course of the interview, the former Southampton star explained how he convinced his brother to join him at his current club, despite having opportunities to go out on a temporary deal elsewhere from Fulham
“To come here, I am convinced that this team suits him perfectly, and that it will allow him to have success. He had other opportunities, but I convinced him to sign for Lille,” Jose explained.
“Luis Campos [Lille sporting director] asked me about his [Rui’s] situation. I told him that there was a possibility. From there, there has been some discussion and the matter was concluded to the last day of the window.”
Rui has two appearances to his name in the league and is yet to find the back of the net for his new club.
