Fulham capture keeper Rico on loan from Sevilla
The 24-year-old Spain international joins the Cottagers on a one-year loan deal, having made 170 appearances at senior level for his hometown club.
Fulham have completed the capture of Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico on a one-year loan deal that will keep him at Craven Cottage until the end of the 2018-19 season.
The 24-year-old, a Spain international, has made 170 senior appearances for his hometown team, and won the Europa League in his first full professional campaign, in 2015.
He joins the Cottagers as they return to the Premier League following last season’s Championship play-off final win against Aston Villa.
Fulham FC statement
The Club is delighted to confirm the signing of Sergio Rico on loan from Sevilla.
The 24-year-old goalkeeper has agreed a loan deal which keeps him at Craven Cottage until the end of the 2018/19 season.
Rico has made 170 appearances for Sevilla’s first team during his career, keeping clean sheets in almost half of those, and has also been capped by Spain at senior level.
Born in Sevilla, Rico joined his local club as a youngster and progressed through the ranks before making his debut at the beginning of 2014/15, going on to make 37 appearances as the club’s first choice goalkeeper despite his tender age.
His maiden campaign culminated in a first ever trophy, as he was in goal for Sevilla’s 3-2 Europa League Final win against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.
Rico added the same medal to his collection a year later as Sevilla defeated Liverpool 3-1 at FC Basel’s St. Jakob-Park.
That proved to be the start of a prosperous summer as it preceded a call-up to the Spain squad for the 2016 European Championship where he was one of three goalkeepers alongside Iker Casillas and David De Gea, making his debut in a warm-up match against South Korea – a 6-1 win for the Spaniards.
Rico made 85 appearances for Sevilla across the following two seasons, the first of which ended in a fourth place finish, and the subsequent featuring a two-legged Champions League knock-out victory over Manchester United.
Commenting after putting pen to paper, Rico said: “I’m very happy, really pleased to have signed for the oldest club in the Premier League.
“I’m excited to start training, to meet all my teammates and, above all, to enjoy the season that starts this Saturday.”
Tony Khan added: “I’m excited to announce that Fulham Football Club has signed Sergio Rico on loan from Sevilla. Sergio is a world class goalkeeper, and thus, his services have been in great demand.
“Sergio joins a very talented cast of goalkeepers under contract at FFC, and he answers our mandate of making our squad the strongest and deepest it can be as we face top Premier League opposition. Come on Fulham!”