Thome first came to England towards the end of the 1997–98 season when moving to
Sheffield Wednesday from Portuguese club
Benfica, who signed him from
Tirsense in 1994–95, when the "jesuítas" stood one win away from a UEFA Cup position. Whilst at
Hillsborough. Thome scored twice for Wednesday, once against Stockport County in the FA Cup and once against Wimbledon in the league. In late 1999, with the Owls staring at the prospect of possible relegation in the face, he made the move to
Chelsea for a fee of £2.7 million. He was to remain at
Stamford Bridge for just nine months, as he found it hard to break up the tried and tested central defensive partnership of
Marcel Desailly and
Frank Leboeuf. Thome was cup-tied for Chelsea's victorious
1999–2000 FA Cup campaign. He did however start when Chelsea memorably beat
Barcelona 3–1 in the first leg of their
UEFA Champions League quarter-final. Just one game into the 2000–01 season Thome was sold to Premiership rivals
Sunderland for a fee of around £4 million. During his time at the
Stadium of Light, Thome struggled with injuries and Sunderland were reluctant to extend his contract. A clause in his contract with Sunderland meant that a considerable sum had to be paid to Chelsea after he played 50 matches. Sunderland were not willing to pay the extra appearance based fee, hence their reasons for not playing Thome towards the end of the 2002–03 season, a campaign which ended in relegation. Thome scored twice for Sunderland, netting in league games against
Coventry City and
Aston Villa. In August 2003, Thome joined
Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer, and became a regular campaigner for the Trotters as they finished eighth in the Premier League and reached the
League Cup final where they lost to
Middlesbrough at the
Millennium Stadium. In the summer of 2004, he moved to
Championship side
Wigan Athletic along with former Bolton teammate
Per Frandsen. Thome was part of the Wigan side which were promoted to the
Premier League for the first time in their history in 2005. His second season with the
Latics saw him face less playing time which resulted in Thome being loaned out to Championship side
Derby County for several months. Once the loan had expired with Derby County, he returned to Wigan Athletic where on 7 February 2006, the
Latics decided to release him from his contract. Following his release by Wigan, Thome joined Japanese side
Vissel Kobe. He remained there for two seasons. In 2007, Thome announced his retirement from professional football. Since his retirement from playing football, Thome now works for
Everton as a chief scout in Portugal since late 2008. ==Honours==