Paulo Ricardo (footballer, born 1994)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paulo Ricardo Ferreira | ||
| Date of birth | 13 June 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Laguna, Santa Catarina, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Persija Jakarta | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2009 | Atlético Catarinense | ||
| 2009 | Brusque | ||
| 2009–2012 | Figueirense | ||
| 2012–2014 | Santos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Santos | 13 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Sion (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | → Sion II (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Sion | 17 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Fluminense (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Goiás (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Figueirense | 29 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | KuPS | 37 | (2) |
| 2023–2024 | Al-Hazem | 43 | (3) |
| 2024–2025 | Al Orooba | 6 | (0) |
| 2025 | KuPS | 11 | (0) |
| 2026– | Persija Jakarta | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 February 2026 | |||
Paulo Ricardo Ferreira (born 13 June 1994) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League club Persija Jakarta.
Club career
Born in Laguna, Santa Catarina, Paulo Ricardo joined Santos' youth system in 2012, aged 18, after stints with Atlético Catarinense, Brusque and Figueirense. At the latter he also suffered with recurrent back injuries which included a vertebral fracture.[2]
On 21 March 2014 Paulo Ricardo signed a new deal with Peixe, running until 2017.[3] He made his first team debut on 18 July, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 home success against Palmeiras for the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championship.[4]
On 26 April 2015, after Werley's illness and Gustavo Henrique's injury, Paulo Ricardo was made a starter in 2015 Campeonato Paulista final against Palmeiras, but was sent off after committing a penalty in a 1–0 away loss.[5] He appeared more regularly with the club during the campaign, being sometimes utilized as a defensive midfielder by manager Dorival Júnior.[6]
On 7 July 2016, Paulo Ricardo was loaned to FC Sion for one year.[7] He made his debut for the club on 10 August, starting in a 3–1 away loss against FC Lugano.
On 24 July 2017, Paulo Ricardo joined Sion permanently, with Santos receiving a compensation fee.[8] On 8 August of the following year, he returned to his homeland after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with Fluminense.[9]
In the summer of 2021, he moved to the Finnish club Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in the country's top-tier Veikkausliiga.[10] During his time with KuPS, the club won two Finnish Cup titles, and finished twice as the Veikkausliiga runner-up, losing the title to HJK Helsinki with one point difference on both occasions.[11]
On 22 January 2023, Ricardo joined Saudi club Al-Hazem for an undisclosed fee.[12]
On 4 July 2024, Ricardo joined Al-Urooba.[13]
On 14 May 2025, it was announced that Ricardo would return to Finland and KuPS, on a deal for the remainder of the season, starting officially on 1 June.[14]
Persija Jakarta
In January 2026, Paulo Ricardo officially joined Indonesian Liga 1 club Persija Jakarta. He signed a contract until the end of the 2025–26 season with an option for an extension.[15] The transfer was completed on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract with KuPS. He was brought in to strengthen Persija's back line and was reported to have a market value of approximately €300,000.
Career statistics
- As of 15 February 2026[16]
| Club | Season | League | State League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Santos | 2014 | Série A | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2015 | Série A | 11 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | Série A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
| Sion II (loan) | 2016–17 | Swiss Promotion League | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Sion | 2016–17 | Swiss Super League | 15 | 2 | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | Swiss Super League | 17 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 22 | 0 | |||
| Total | 32 | 2 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 39 | 2 | ||||
| Fluminense (loan) | 2018 | Série A | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 3[e] | 0 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | Série A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |||
| Goiás (loan) | 2019 | Série A | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Figueirense | 2020 | Série B | 12 | 1 | 7[f] | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2021 | Série C | 0 | 0 | 11[f] | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Total | 12 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 | ||||
| KuPS | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 13 | 2 | — | — | — | 1[g] | 0 | 14 | 2 | |||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||
| Total | 37 | 2 | — | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 51 | 2 | |||
| Al-Hazem | 2022–23 | Saudi First Division | 17 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | – | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 27 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 3 | |||||
| Al-Urooba | 2024–25 | UAE Pro League | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| KuPS | 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 11 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Persija Jakarta | 2025–26 | Super League | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 170 | 8 | 19 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 238 | 8 | ||
- ^ Includes Copa do Brasil, Swiss Cup, Suomen Cup and Saudi King's Cup
- ^ Includes Copa Verde, Finnish League Cup and UAE League Cup
- ^ Includes Campeonato Paulista
- ^ Includes UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
- ^ a b Includes Campeonato Catarinense
- ^ a b Includes UEFA Europa Conference League
Honours
- Santos
KuPS
- Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2021, 2022
- Finnish Cup: 2021, 2022
Al-Hazem
- Saudi First Division League runner-up: 2022–23
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Defender of the Year: 2022[17]
- Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2022[18]
References
- ^ "Paulo Ricardo » Profile". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
- ^ "Zagueiro supera grave lesão para ser titular do Santos na Copa São Paulo" [Stopper overcomes severe injury to become Santos' starter in Copa São Paulo] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ "Santos FC renova com zagueiro Paulo Ricardo até 2017" [Santos FC renews with stopper Paulo Ricardo until 2017] (in Portuguese). Santos' official profile. 21 March 2014. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ "Santos bate inofensivo Palmeiras na estreia de Gareca e encosta no G-4" [Santos defeats inoffensive Palmeiras in Gareca's debut and gets near to G-4] (in Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ "Com arbitragem polêmica, Palmeiras sai na frente do Santos na decisão" [With controversial refereeing, Palmeiras goes ahead of Santos in the final] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- ^ "Polivalente e titular, Paulo Ricardo lidera evolução da defesa do Santos" [Versatile and starter, Paulo Ricardo leads Santos' defensive evolution] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ "Santos Libera Paulo Ricardo para empréstimo ao Sion, da Suíça" [Santos release Paulo Ricardo for a loan to Sion, from Switzerland] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ "Santos recebe compensação e vende Paulo Ricardo para clube da Suíça" [Santos receive compensation and sell Paulo Ricardo to Swiss club] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ "Zagueiro Paulo Ricardo é apresentado no Fluminense" [Stopper Paulo Ricardo is presented at Fluminense] (in Portuguese). Fluminense FC. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Após deixar o Figueirense, Paulo Ricardo acerta com clube da Finlândia". ge. 10 August 2021.
- ^ Paulo Ricardo
- ^ "رسميا | الحزم يعلن التعاقد مع أوباما ومدافع برازيلي".
- ^ "العروبة يتعاقد مع 3 أجانب".
- ^ Paulo Ricardo palaa Kuopioon ja tuttuun keltamustaan paitaan, kups.fi, 14 May 2025
- ^ "Persija Jakarta Resmi Kontrak Paulo Ricardo". Persija.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 January 2026.
- ^ Paulo Ricardo at Soccerway
- ^ Liimatta, Ville (1 December 2022). "Vuoden 2022 Captain's Ball: Kaikki voittajat ja palkitut kootusti". SuomiFutis (in Finnish). Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ "Perinteinen Koplajoukkue nimetty - jalkapallotoimittajien valinnat kauden parhaiksi". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). 16 October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
External links
- Santos FC profile (in Portuguese)
- Paulo Ricardo at Soccerway