Rui Tiago Dantas da Silva (born 7 February 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Portugal national team.
Club career Nacional Born in Águas Santas, Maia, Porto District, Silva began his development at Maia before completing it at Nacional, whom he joined in 2012. He made his professional debut on 26 January 2014 in a dead rubber Taça da Liga group match at Leixões, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory. His Primeira Liga debut came on 11 May in the final fixture away against Gil Vicente, giving away and conceding the penalty from which Diogo Viana scored the only goal.
Silva eventually became first choice for the Manuel Machado-led team, overtaking Brazilian Eduardo Gottardi.
Granada On 27 January 2017, Silva signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at Spanish La Liga club Granada, as a replacement for Levante-bound Oier Olazábal. Costing €1.5 million, he was completely unused in his first season in which the Andalusians were relegated to the Segunda División, as Guillermo Ochoa was unchallenged.
Silva remained second choice, this time to Javi Varas, and debuted on 6 September 2017 in the second round of the Copa del Rey, a 3–0 away defeat to Real Zaragoza. He made four league appearances, the first being a 1–0 loss at Rayo Vallecano on 2 December while the veteran Spaniard was grieving the death of a family member.
Under new manager Diego Martínez, Silva became the starter and missed just two games as the Nazaríes finished second to Osasuna and won promotion in the 2018–19 campaign. He was given the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best-performing goalkeeper in the league, and was also voted best in his position.
In 2020–21, Silva represented Granada in their debut European campaign, reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League. He then chose to allow his contract to expire.
Betis On 11 June 2021, Silva joined Real Betis on a five-year deal, effective as of 1 July. He started ahead of Claudio Bravo on his debut, a 1–1 draw away to Mallorca on 14 August. Having competed with the Chilean throughout his first season, he raised the possibility of leaving in April 2022; in the same month, he sat on the bench as the team won the Spanish Cup final.
Sporting CP Silva was loaned to Sporting CP on 14 January 2025, in a return to Portugal; on 1 July, the club had an obligation to acquire on a permanent basis him for €4 million. The following month, he made his debut in the UEFA Champions League in a 3–0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the knockout phase play-offs, and scored a bizarre own goal in the league against Arouca also at the Estádio José Alvalade (2–2).
International career Silva won his sole cap for the Portugal under-21 side on 13 November 2014, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 away friendly defeat against England. In August 2020, he had his first senior call-up for UEFA Nations League matches against Croatia and Sweden the following month.
On 20 May 2021, Silva was selected by manager Fernando Santos for his UEFA Euro 2020 squad. He made his debut on 9 June in the last exhibition game before the tournament, playing the entire 4–0 win over Israel in Lisbon.
In October 2022, Silva was named in a preliminary 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He did not make the final cut, but was selected by Roberto Martínez for the following edition of the tournament.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsNacional2013–14Primeira Liga100010——102014–15Primeira Liga90002000—1102015–16Primeira Liga2201000——2302016–17Primeira Liga1801000——190Total500203000—550Granada2016–17La Liga0000———002017–18Segunda División4010———502018–19Segunda División40000———4002019–20La Liga35020———3702020–21La Liga32000—140—460Total111030—140—1280Betis2021–22La Liga22030—70—3202022–23La Liga26000—20002802023–24La Liga28030—60—3702024–25La Liga15000—20—170Total91060—170001140Sporting CP (loan)2024–25Primeira Liga17040—20—230Sporting CP2025–26Primeira Liga3203010110104802026–27Primeira Liga70000010—80Sporting total560701014010790Career total308018040450103760
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsPortugal202110202200202300202400202500202620Total30
Honours Betis Copa del Rey: 2021–22
Sporting CP Primeira Liga: 2024–25 Taça de Portugal: 2024–25
Portugal UEFA Nations League: 2024–25
Individual Segunda División Best Goalkeeper: 2018–19 Ricardo Zamora Trophy: 2018–19 Segunda División
References
External links