Portugal Born in
Penafiel, Fonte finished his football education (after already having played there from ages 10 to 13) at
Sporting CP. He only appeared with
Sporting CP B as a senior, in the
third division. He joined
Salgueiros in 2004, but the club was in severe financial difficulties and was liquidated shortly after; as a result, he terminated his contract and transferred to
Felgueiras of
Segunda Liga. In the 2005 off-season, Fonte made his
Primeira Liga debut with
Vitória de Setúbal, where his performances attracted the eye of
Benfica, who signed him in January 2006 He finished
the season with 26 appearances and one goal, in a 2–2 away draw against
Penafiel in which he also scored twice in
his own net; both Paços and Setúbal managed to retain their status. Fonte spent the
2006–07 season on loan to
Estrela da Amadora, still in the top division,
Crystal Palace In July 2007, Fonte moved on loan to
Crystal Palace in England, being introduced in the team's starting line-up after a run of injuries. The move was made permanent at the end of
the campaign, as Palace finished fifth and qualified to the promotion play-offs. Fonte continued to feature regularly with the Londoners in the
Championship, even appearing as a makeshift
striker when required.
Southampton in 2015 Fonte signed for
Southampton on 9 January 2010 for a fee believed to be around the region of £1.2 million, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. He made his debut one week later alongside two other recent signings,
Jon Otsemobor and
Danny Seaborne, in a 1–1 draw away to
Millwall. His first goal came on 28 August, in a 4–0 away win over
Bristol Rovers. After scoring seven league goals and helping the Saints win promotion to the second tier, Fonte was named in the
League One Team of the Year for
2010–11. He was also voted Southampton's Player of Year, achieving 64% of the vote, with
Adam Lallana coming second with 18% and
Dan Harding finishing third with 7%. On 29 December 2011, Fonte penned a new deal keeping him at the club until June 2015; Southampton were top of the table at that point, with the player having appeared in every league game. He eventually contributed 42 matches and one goal, which came against
Coventry City in the final fixture of the season as the team earned a
second consecutive promotion. Fonte made his debut in the
Premier League on 19 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 away loss to
Manchester City. He netted his first goals in the competition in a 2–2 home draw with
Fulham on 7 October, the second arriving in the
last minute. On 24 August 2013, Fonte scored a
header in the 89th minute of the home game against
Sunderland, rescuing a point for his side. The following 23 January, he was attacked by teammate
Dani Osvaldo during a training session; subsequently, the latter was loaned out to
Juventus in the winter
transfer window. On 8 August 2014, Fonte signed a new three-year contract running until June 2017, and was also named
team captain. He made his 250th league appearance for Southampton on 16 October 2016, in a 3–1 home victory over
Burnley.
West Ham United On 20 January 2017, Fonte joined English top-flight
West Ham United for a reported fee of £8 million (plus potential add-ons) on a two-and-a-half-year contract. He made his league debut on 1 February, in a 4–0 home defeat by Manchester City in which he conceded a
penalty by bringing down
Raheem Sterling. On 4 November 2017, after a league match against his former employers Crystal Palace, it was confirmed Fonte had suffered a foot injury that would sideline him for the rest of the year.
Dalian Yifang Fonte completed a transfer to
Chinese Super League club
Dalian Yifang on 23 February 2018, joining for a reported fee of £5 million. On 15 July, he terminated his contract.
Lille in the Champions League in 2021 Fonte signed a two-year contract with
Lille on 20 July 2018. He made his
Ligue 1 debut on 18 August as
the season began with a goalless draw at
Monaco, and scored his first goal on 22 September to open a 2–1 win at home to
Nantes while
assisting the other goal by
Jonathan Ikoné. On 16 December, he was
sent off after 16 minutes of a 3–2 victory at
Nîmes for swearing at an
assistant referee, as was manager
Christophe Galtier for arguing his case; he missed just two games as the
Dogues finished runners-up to
Paris Saint-Germain, scoring three times including the conclusion of a 5–1 victory over that opposition at the
Stade Pierre-Mauroy on 14 April. On 9 August 2019, Fonte agreed to an extension until 2021. The 37-year-old captained the team to the national championship in the
2020–21 campaign, their first since
2010–11, making 36 appearances and scoring three times in the process. After adding one more year to his contract, Fonte played in the
Trophée des Champions on 1 August 2021, a
1–0 defeat of PSG in
Tel Aviv. He renewed again for
2022–23, after which he was released.
Later career On 19 July 2023, Fonte signed a one-year contract with
Braga. One year later, the 40-year-old remained in the Portuguese top flight on a one-year deal at
Casa Pia. ==International career==