Ricardo Alves (footballer, born 1993)
Portuguese footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ricardo Alves Coelho da Silva (born 25 March 1993) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Persian Gulf Pro League club Sepahan.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Alves Coelho da Silva[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 March 1993[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Lourosa, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sepahan | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2003 | Lusitânia | ||
| 2003–2006 | Porto | ||
| 2006 | Boavista | ||
| 2007 | Pasteleira | ||
| 2007–2008 | Boavista | ||
| 2008–2009 | Padroense | ||
| 2009–2012 | Porto | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | Belenenses | 13 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | → Portimonense (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2015 | Rapid București | 7 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | Olimpija Ljubljana | 78 | (15) |
| 2018–2020 | Orenburg | 39 | (7) |
| 2021 | Krylia Sovetov | 12 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Kairat | 19 | (0) |
| 2022–2025 | Tractor | 82 | (6) |
| 2025– | Sepahan | 16 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2008 | Portugal U15 | 3 | (0) |
| 2009 | Portugal U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2011 | Portugal U18 | 5 | (4) |
| 2011–2012 | Portugal U19 | 12 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | Portugal U20 | 13 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 08:24, 30 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Belenenses
Born in Lourosa (Santa Maria da Feira), Alves played youth football with mainly FC Porto, which he represented from ages 16 to 19 in his second stint. He made his senior debut with C.F. Os Belenenses on 1 August 2012, playing three minutes in a 1–0 home win against S.C. Freamunde in the first round of the Taça da Liga.[2]
On 20 January 2013, Alves made his first appearance in the Segunda Liga, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 home draw with C.D. Santa Clara.[3] In the ensuing summer he was loaned to Portimonense S.C. in the same league,[4] which he later considered to be a "step back" in his career.[5]
Olimpija
In the summer of 2015, after a short spell in Romania with FC Rapid București,[6] Alves signed with NK Olimpija Ljubljana from the Slovenian PrvaLiga. He made his debut in top-flight football on 8 August, starting and scoring in a 2–0 away victory over NK Krško.[7]
Alves and his team won the double in the 2017–18 campaign, with the player contributing a career-best ten league goals to the feat[8] and adding one and two assists in the final of the domestic cup against NK Aluminij (6–1 in Ljubljana).[9]
Later career
On 6 September 2018, Alves joined Russian Premier League club FC Orenburg.[10] On 2 October 2020, his contract was terminated by mutual consent;[11] he remained in the country nonetheless, moving to Football National League side PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara in February 2021.[12]
Alves agreed to an 18-month contract with FC Kairat on 13 July 2021.[13] One year later, he left for the Persian Gulf Pro League with Tractor SC.[14] He won the national championship in his third season with the latter; one of his three goals was scored in the decisive match, from a penalty kick to close a 4–0 away win over Shams Azar FC.[15]
Alves continued in the Iranian top division for 2025–26, with the 32-year-old joining Sepahan SC.[16] The transfer sparked protests from Tractor, who claimed that he had a registered three-year contract with them. They subsequently filed a complaint with FIFA against both the club and the player;[17] additionally, Alves took to the governing body to press charges against the Iranian Football League, citing lack of expedition in the handling of his case.[17]
International career
Alves was part of the Portugal squad at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Turkey, playing three matches in an eventual round-of-16 exit.[18][19][20]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Belenenses | 2012–13 | Segunda Liga | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||
| Portimonense (loan) | 2013–14 | Segunda Liga | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| Rapid București | 2014–15 | Liga I | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Olimpija | 2015–16 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 3 | |||
| 2016–17 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 1 | — | 27 | 3 | |||
| 2017–18 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 33 | 10 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 11 | |||
| Total | 78 | 15 | 10 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 90 | 17 | ||||
| Orenburg | 2018–19 | Russian Premier League | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 3 | |||
| 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 3 | ||||
| 2020–21 | Russian First League | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 39 | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 43 | 7 | |||||
| Krylia Sovetov | 2020–21 | Russian First League | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Kairat | 2021 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 10[d] | 2 | — | 22 | 3 | ||
| 2022 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 19 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | |||
| Tractor | 2022–23 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | — | 31 | 3 | |||
| 2024–25 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[g] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 5 | ||
| Total | 82 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 8 | |||
| Career total | 265 | 30 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 318 | 37 | ||
- Includes Taça da Liga
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearance in Kazakhstan Super Cup
- Appearance in AFC Champions League Elite
- Appearances in AFC Champions League Two
Honours
Belenenses
Olimpija Ljubljana
Tractor