Ruari Paton

Club

St Johnstone

Position

Attacker

Nationality

Ireland

Date of birth

2000-08-09

Birthplace

Dublin, Ireland

Height

1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)

Weight

141 lbs

Shirt number

99

Ruari Michael Paton (born 9 August 2000) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone. He has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-16 level.

Paton, a talented dancer, spent his youth with Shelbourne, St Kevin's Boys and Belvedere, before he left Ireland to join the development squad at Scottish club Hibernian. He spent time on loan at Gala Fairydean Rovers, before joining East Kilbride in July 2019 after being released from Hibernian. His goal record in the Lowland League earned him a move to Stranraer in Scottish League Two. He was signed by Queen of the South in July 2021 and played on the losing side in the 2022 final of the Scottish Challenge Cup. He was named to the PFA Scotland Team of the Year following 22 Scottish League One goals in the 2022–23 season. He was sold to Queen's Park in June 2023 and was again named on the PFA Scotland Team of the Year after scoring 17 Scottish Championship goals in the 2023–24 campaign. He was signed by English club Port Vale for an undisclosed fee in July 2024 and returned to Scotland on loan at Dundee United in January 2025 and at St Johnstone in February 2026. He helped St Johnstone to win the Scottish Championship title at the end of the 2025–26 campaign and joined the club permanently in the summer.