Leicester City In 100 Players: Ricardo Pereira
After signing for Leicester City in the summer of 2018, Portugal international full-back Ricardo has become a firm fans’ favourite. He is a versatile, skillful and speedy player who has scored some wonderful goals. Capable of playing at right full-back, inverted full-back, midfielder and winger, he is excellent both defensively and offensively.
His record in club football in Europe and now at Leicester City demonstrates what a top-class player he is, as does his international record, which has seen him win 35 caps up to Under-21s level and seven senior caps.
Born in Lisbon in October 1993, Ricardo spent six years at Sporting Lisbon’s academy from the age of 11. He made his Primeira Liga debut for Vitória Guimarães in April 2012 and scored the winning goal for the club in the 2013 Portuguese Cup Final against Benfica, becoming the competition’s top scorer in the process. He moved to Porto in July 2013, making his UEFA Champions League bow in 2014.
In 2015, he was loaned to OGC Nice for two seasons, making 57 appearances for the Ligue 1 side in all competitions. He was voted the best full-back in Ligue 1 in April 2016. He returned to Porto for the 2017/18 season when he was a regular in the team which won the Primeira Liga title that season.
After playing for Portugal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he began his career at Leicester City, managed by his old Nice manager Claude Puel.
His first season in the Premier League was a triumph. Hardly missing a game, he scored memorable goals against Everton and Manchester City and was voted the Club’s Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season.
He continued to impress the following season but, just before the COVID-19 pandemic suspended football, he suffered an ACL injury which kept him out of the side for the next 35 matches.
He was an unused substitute in the 2021 FA Cup Final victory, but the next season, returning to the side, he played in the FA Community Shield victory over Manchester City and scored the winning goal against PSV Eindhoven in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
However, in 2022/23, he missed 27 games due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, unable to help the Club’s fight against relegation. This season, though, has seen him play an absolutely key role as an inverted full-back, as Enzo Maresca’s team have become strong contenders for an immediate return to the Premier League.