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1. Mario Rui Silva Duarte – better known as Mario Rui – was born in Sinis, in the Alentejo region of Portugal, on 27 May 1991. He is 25 years old.
2. The defender came up through the Benfica youth ranks before heading out to Portuguese second-division side CD Fatima on loan in the 2010-11 season. He made 25 appearances and scored one goal during the loan spell.
3. In July 2011, Benfica sold Mario Rui to Parma. He then spent two seasons on loan in Serie B, first with Gubbio in 2011-12, where the defender scored twice in 31 appearances, and then with Spezia in the 2012-13, with the Portuguese playing 23 times.
4. Mario Rui’s good performances in Serie B with both Gubbio and Spezia prompted Maurizio Sarri’s Empoli side to sign him on a co-ownership deal in the summer of 2013 before completing the purchase outright in June 2014.
5. The Portuguese got off to a good start with Empoli, making 26 appearances as the club sealed promotion to Serie A at the end of the 2013-14 season.
6. Mario Rui made his Serie A debut on 31 August 2014, coming off the bench to replace team-mate Elseid Hysaj in the second half of Empoli’s away match against Udinese.
7. Over the course of the next two Serie A seasons, the Portuguese defender became a key member of the Empoli team, racking up 70 appearances.
8. Mario Rui has represented Portugal at a number of levels, from the U16s through to the U21s, making a total of 51 appearances. He also took part in the FIFA U20 World Cup, playing five times and scoring one goal as Portugal finished runners up.
9. Mario Rui was one of Empoli’s best performers last season. The defender made 2913 passes, the third-best stat of any Serie A defender. He was also second in balls recovered (216) and duels won (63%) for Empoli, per Opta's statistics.
10. Unlike many of his new team-mates, Mario Rui has no official social media profiles.
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