Rui Borges

Rui Borges learned his trade in the second tier of Portuguese football before Moreirense gave him a top-flight job in 2023 [2]. In December 2024 Sporting appointed him [1], and the club won the 2024/25 league title with him in charge [5].

From Mirandela to the second tier

Liga Portugal lists his nationality as Portuguese [6]. Borges began his coaching career in Mirandela, his home town, after he ended his playing career there [2]. His next jobs were in the second tier. At Académico de Viseu he kept the club out of the relegation zone in 2018/19, then took it to the Taça de Portugal semi-final in 2019/20, where FC Porto knocked it out [2].

At Académica he finished fourth in 2020/21, matching the club's best season since it left the top flight in 2015/16 [2]. A sixth-place finish at Nacional in 2021/22 left him frustrated at missing promotion [2]. He then coached Vilafranquense and Mafra in the 2022/23 season [2]. He left Vilafranquense in fifth place at the 19th matchday, and at Mafra the team climbed from 14th to sixth in its last 14 rounds [2].

Moreirense and Vitória de Guimarães

Borges joined Moreirense in July 2023, when the club was in the top flight [2]. In 2023/24 the team earned 55 points in 34 matchdays and finished sixth, equalling the sixth-place finish of 2018/19 [2]. The side went 16 matchdays without conceding a goal, the most in the league, level with champions Sporting and runners-up Benfica [2]. Borges had played for Moreirense in 2007/08 and 2008/09, and he extended his contract there to 2026 [2].

Vitória de Guimarães presented him as coach on 28 May 2024 [2]. In 2024/25 the club sat sixth in the league with 23 points after 15 matchdays [2]. Under him Vitória set a Portuguese record of nine consecutive UEFA wins [2]. He left the club in December 2024, when Sporting appointed him [1]. The Guimarães club confirmed his departure at the time [1].

Sporting and the 2024/25 title

Sporting appointed Borges on 26 December 2024 to succeed João Pereira [1]. Pereira had taken charge after Rúben Amorim left for Manchester United, and his spell lasted about a month [2]. The club paid Vitória SC a fee of €4,100,000 for him [1]. Four members of his staff, including two assistant coaches, also moved from Guimarães under the deal [1]. His contract, as first reported, ran until 30 June 2026, with an option to extend it to 30 June 2027 [1].

Sporting won the 2024/25 Liga Portugal, the club's 21st league title [5]. The league's coaches and captains voted Borges the best coach of the season, and he received the award at the Liga Portugal gala, held at the league's headquarters in Porto [5].

Sources disagree on how long his contract now runs. A Bola's report of 27 October 2026 gives an end date of June 2028, with an option for one more year [3]. The earlier report gave 2026 and 2027 [1], so the date is not settled here.

Position in October 2026

On 27 October 2026, A Bola wrote that Borges's position was at risk after Sporting lost 1-2 at home to Académico de Viseu, and that the home match against Marítimo could be his last in charge. According to the report, wins would only postpone an exit [3].

On 29 October 2026, Sporting's coach spoke publicly, and A Bola reported his remarks [4].