Ricardo Pereira (footballer, born 1993)

Ricardo Domingos Barbosa Pereira (born 6 October 1993) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Premier League club Leicester City and the Portugal national team.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Barbosa and the second or paternal family name is Pereira.
Ricardo Pereira
Pereira with Portugal at the 2018 World Cup
Personal information
Full name Ricardo Domingos Barbosa Pereira[1]
Date of birth (1993-10-06) 6 October 1993[1]
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal[1]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2][1]
Position(s) Winger / Full-back
Club information
Current team
 Leicester City
Number 21
Youth career
2001–2004 Futebol Benfica
2004–2010 Sporting CP
2010–2011 Naval
2011–2012 Vitória Guimarães
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Vitória Guimarães 30 (0)
2013 Vitória Guimarães B 1 (0)
2013–2015 Porto B 18 (2)
2013–2018 Porto 46 (4)
2015–2017 → Nice (loan) 50 (2)
2018– Leicester City 66 (5)
National team‡
2011–2012 Portugal U19 3 (1)
2012–2013 Portugal U20 14 (4)
2013–2015 Portugal U21 18 (7)
2016 Portugal U23 1 (0)
2015– Portugal 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2019

After starting out at Vitória de Guimarães – winning the 2013 Taça de Portugal and being the competition's top scorer in the process – he signed with Porto, being part of the squad that won the 2017–18 Primeira Liga but also spending two years on loan to French club Nice.

An international since 2015, Pereira represented Portugal at the 2018 World Cup.

Club career

Guimarães

Born in Lisbon of Cape Verdean descent,[3] Pereira began playing youth football with local C.F. Benfica, signing in 2010 with Associação Naval 1º de Maio after a six-year spell at Sporting CP's academy. He moved to Vitória S.C. after only one year, completing his development with the Guimarães-based club.[4]

Pereira made his first-team – and Primeira Liga – debut on 1 April 2012, playing 12 minutes in a 3–1 home win over F.C. Paços de Ferreira.[5] He scored six goals in as many games in the 2012–13 edition of the Portuguese Cup,[6][7] including the 2–1 winner in the final against S.L. Benfica as the Minho Province side won the tournament for the first time in their history.[8]

Porto

On 16 April 2013, before the season was over, Pereira agreed to join FC Porto on 1 July, moving alongside teammate Tiago Rodrigues.[9] He alternated constantly between the first and the second teams during his early tenure, also being reconverted into a fullback by manager Paulo Fonseca.[10] His maiden appearance in the UEFA Champions League took place on 26 August 2014, when he replaced injured Casemiro late into the 2–0 home victory over Lille OSC for the play-off round.[11]

In summer 2015, after only 33 first-team appearances over two seasons, Pereira was loaned for two years to French club OGC Nice.[12] He made his debut in Ligue 1 on 12 September, playing the entire 0–1 home loss to En Avant de Guingamp.[13]

Pereira was voted as the French League's best full-back by the International Centre for Sports Studies in April 2016.[14]

Leicester City

On 17 May 2018, a €25 million deal was agreed for Pereira to move to Leicester City.[15] He made his Premier League debut on 10 August, playing the entire 1–2 away defeat against Manchester United.[16] He scored his first goal while celebrating his 25th birthday, netting after a counter-attack in a 1–2 home loss to Everton.[17] At the end of the campaign, he was voted both his team's Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season.[18]

Pereira scored in consecutive wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United in September 2019, both at the King Power Stadium,[19] and the following 4 March he netted the only goal against Birmingham City in the fifth round of the FA Cup to put the Foxes into the last eight for the first time in eight years.[20] Days later, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.[21]

International career

Pereira won 35 caps for Portugal at youth level, scoring 12 goals. He was part of the under-21 squad that finished second at the 2015 UEFA European Championship,[22] contributing with four starting appearances and netting in the 5–0 semi-final drubbing of Germany.[23]

On 6 November 2015, Pereira was called up to the full side for the second time, ahead of friendlies against Russia and Luxembourg.[24] He made his debut in the former match, featuring eight minutes in the 0–1 defeat in Krasnodar.[25]

Pereira was selected by manager Fernando Santos for his 2018 FIFA World Cup squad.[26] He made his debut in the competition on 30 June, playing the entire 2–1 Round of 16 loss against Uruguay.[27]

Career statistics

Club
As of 3 February 2021[28][29]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vitória Guimarães 2011–12 300000—30
2012–13 2705432—356
Total 3005432—386
Porto B 2013–14 121———121
2014–15 61———61
Total 182———182
Porto 2013–14 142102030202
2014–15 50005030130
2017–18 272603070432
Total 46470100130764
Nice (loan) 2015–16 2600010—270
2016–17 242100050302
Total 502101050572
Leicester 2018–19 352002000372
2019–20 283114000334
2020–21 3010001050
Total 665216010756
Career Total 2101315520219026420

International
As of 17 November 2019[30]
Portugal
YearAppsGoals
201520
201600
201710
201820
201920
Total70

Honours

Vitória Guimarães

Porto

Portugal

Individual

References
  1. "Ricardo Pereira" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  2. "Ricardo Pereira". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  3. Pires, Sérgio (13 October 2015). "Nélson Semedo: e Portugal lá pescou mais um "tubarão"..." [Nélson Semedo: and Portugal fished yet another "shark"...] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  4. Monteiro, Carina (27 July 2011). "Júnior Ricardito em Guimarães" [Junior Ricardito in Guimarães] (in Portuguese). O Navalista. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  5. "V. Guimarães 3–1 P. Ferreira" (in Portuguese). SAPO. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  6. "Ricardo brace puts Vitória Guimarães in pole position to make Jamor". PortuGOAL. 27 March 2013. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  7. "O 'miúdo' dos seniores que ajudava nos treinos dos juniores" [The 'kid' from the seniors who helped out in the juniors' practice] (in Portuguese). Bancada. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  8. "Guimarães claim famous cup win". PortuGOAL. 26 May 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  9. "Ricardo e Tiago Rodrigues reforçam dragões" [Ricardo and Tiago Rodrigues strengthen dragons]. Record (in Portuguese). 16 April 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  10. "Ricardo vê a luz que o guia à lateral" [Ricardo sees the light that guides him to the flank]. Record (in Portuguese). 14 January 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  11. "FC Porto vence Lille e está na Liga dos Campeões" [FC Porto beat Lille and are in Champions League] (in Portuguese). TSF. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  12. "Ricardo Pereira (FC Porto) prêté deux ans à Nice" [Ricardo Pereira (FC Porto) loaned two years to Nice]. L'Équipe (in French). 31 August 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  13. Maltret, Laurent (12 September 2015). "Nice – Guingamp: Younousse Sankharé fait plier Nice (0–1)" [Nice – Guingamp: Younousse Sankharé brings Nice to their knees (0–1)]. L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  14. "Devinez qui est le meilleur arrière latéral du championnat de France" [Guess who the French championship's best full-back is]. Nice-Matin (in French). 10 April 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  15. Tanner, Rob (17 May 2018). "Ricardo Pereira to Leicester City deal agreed". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  16. Begley, Emlyn (11 August 2018). "Manchester United 2–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  17. Doyle, Paul (6 October 2018). "Gylfi Sigurdsson wonder strike gives Everton win over 10-man Leicester". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  18. "Ricardo bags awards double at end of season dinner". Leicester City F.C. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  19. Warlow, Robert (29 September 2019). "Leicester City's Ricardo Pereira has got some Spurs fans talking after his goal vs Newcastle". Football London. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  20. Lansley, Peter (4 March 2020). "Ricardo Pereira strikes for Leicester to knock out battling Birmingham". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  21. "Ricardo Pereira out for season, likely to miss Euro 2020 with ACL damage". Yahoo Sports. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  22. Kell, Tom (30 June 2015). "Spot-on Sweden beat Portugal to win U21 EURO". UEFA. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  23. Hart, Simon (27 June 2015). "Five-goal Portugal stun Germany in semi-finals". UEFA. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  24. "Portugal gives Ronaldo a rest, calls up newcomers for games". USA Today. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  25. "Rússia vence Portugal em Krasnodar" [Russia beat Portugal in Krasnodar] (in Portuguese). UEFA. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  26. "Nearly half Portugal's Euro squad to miss World Cup". Special Broadcasting Service. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  27. Mather, Victor (30 June 2018). "Uruguay makes sure Ronaldo follows Messi out of World Cup". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  28. Ricardo Pereira at ForaDeJogo
  29. "Ricardo Pereira". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  30. "Ricardo Pereira". European Football. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  31. "FC Porto é campeão nacional 2017/2018" [FC Porto are 2017/2018 national champions] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
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