Ricardo Goulart Pereira, known as Ricardo Goulart (; born 5 June 1991), is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

. Goulart started his career with

Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwadwo ...

in 2009, and remained at the club until 2011, with a loan to

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...

. He played the 2012 season

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

in the second tier, before joining Cruzeiro the following year. At Cruzeiro, Goulart cemented a place in the first team, and during his two-year stint, he made a total of 99 appearances and scored 34 times, winning the 2014 Brasileiro with the club. His personal awards include the 2014

Bola de Ouro The ''Bola de Ouro'' (Golden Ball) is an annual award given each year, since 1973, by Brazilian sports magazine ''Placar'' to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro. A group of sports journalists watch every match of the competition and rat ...

, besides featuring in the team of the season. In 2015, he entered Asian football by signing for Chinese club

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

, where he won the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

and

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

in his first season. Goulart made his international debut for the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team ( pt, Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' (‘Canary Squad’, after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the B ...

against

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

in 2014.

Club career

Santo André

Born in

São José dos Campos São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Goulart joined

's youth setup in 2006, after failed trials at

, São Caetano,

Taubaté Taubaté is a medium-sized city in the State of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. Location Its strategic location between the two most important Brazilian cities (São Paulo away, and Rio de Janeiro away), connected to both by the Presiden ...

and

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its beac ...

. In the 2009 season, after being the under-20's top scorer in the

Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior The Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (or ''São Paulo Youth Football Cup'', in English), also known as Copa São Paulo de Juniores (''São Paulo Youth Cup'') and Copinha (''Little Cup''), is a cup competition played by Brazilian under-20 associ ...

, he was then promoted to the first team. Goulart made his first team debut for ''Ramalhão'' on 25 February 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring the equalizer in a 2–1

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

home win over Ituano. He scored four times in 12 appearances in the competition, as the club finished sixth. Goulart made his Série A debut on 24 May 2009, replacing

Antônio Flávio Antônio Flávio Aires dos Santos (born 5 January 1987) is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a striker for Ponte Preta. Antônio Flávio is more commonly known as Flávio by the fans and commentators. Career Flávio started his career at A ...

in a 1–2 home loss against

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

. He scored his first goal in the category on 25 July, but in a 2–3 loss at Grêmio, and featured sparingly in the league as his side suffered relegation.

Loan to Internacional

On 19 May 2010, Goulart was loaned to

for one year, and was initially assigned to the B-team. After winning the 2010 Copa FGF with the B's, Goulart was included in the main squad ahead of the 2011 campaign, and started the season as a starter. However, after the arrival of

Dorival Júnior Dorival Silvestre Júnior (born 25 April 1962) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Playing career Known only as Júnior during his playing days, he was born in Araraquara, São Pau ...

as manager, he lost space in the main squad and returned to his parent club when his loan expired in December 2011; Santo André also refused to keep him, and he was subsequently released.

Goiás

On 28 December 2011, Goulart agreed to a contract with Série B

for the ensuing campaign. He made his debut for the club on 22 January, starting in a 5–0

Campeonato Goiano The Campeonato Goiano is the football league of the state of Goiás, Brazil. Format First Division First stage *Teams are divided in two groups of six teams. *Double round-robin, in which all teams home-and-away games against the team fro ...

home routing of Aparecidense, and scored his first goal three days later in a 4–2 win at Morrinhos. An immediate starter, Goulart won the 2012

and the 2012 Série B with the side, scoring 25 goals overall and providing 14 assists as the club returned to the top tier. He notably scored three braces in the campaign, against

Goianésia Goianésia () is a municipality in the state of Goiás, Brazil. It is a large producer of sugarcane for production of alcohol used as a source of fuel. Location Goianésia is located almost due north of Anápolis (150 km), 54 km from th ...

(2–1 home win),

Ipatinga Ipatinga is a municipality in eastern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The city was founded on 29 April 1964 and covers a total area of . Its population is 267,333 as of 2021. It is part of the Vale do Aço (Steel Valley) metropolitan area (populati ...

(6–0 away win) and

Guaratinguetá Guaratinguetá is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 122,505 (2020 est.) in an area of 752.64 km2. It is located in the region of ...

(3–0 away win).

Cruzeiro

On 5 January 2013, Goulart was announced at Cruzeiro in the top tier. He made his debut for the club on 3 February, starting in a 2–1

Campeonato Mineiro Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF (Federação Mineira de Futebol). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: befor ...

home win over rivals

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

, and scored his first goal on 24 March in a 2–1 home win over Caldense. Goulart was the league top scorer of Cruzeiro in his first season (along with

Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

), scoring 10 goals as the club lifted the trophy. In August 2014, after winning the 2014 Mineiro, he was targeted by French club

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, but the offer was refused by Cruzeiro. In the

2014 Copa Libertadores The 2014 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2014 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 55th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organized ...

, Goulart was again the club's top goalscorer (along with

Bruno Rodrigo Bruno Rodrigo Fenelon Palomo (born 12 April 1985), known as Bruno Rodrigo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a central defender for last time Grêmio. Career Born in São Paulo, Bruno Rodrigo started his professional career in h ...

), scoring four goals (including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 5–1 home routing of

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

) as his side was knocked out in the quarterfinals. In the year's Série A, he scored 15 goals and was the club's top goalscorer as they lifted a second consecutive league title. He was also named in the team of the season by CBF, and won the

and Bola de Prata awards by

Placar ''Placar'' ( en, Score) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on foot ...

Guangzhou Evergrande

First seasons

In early January 2015, Goulart was linked to a move away from Cruzeiro to China and Mexico. On 13 January, he signed for

club

for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

15 million, on a four-year contract, being handed the no 11 jersey. It was the highest transfer fee paid by a Chinese club. Goulart made his debut on 14 February 2015, replacing countryman

Renê Júnior Renê dos Santos Júnior (born 16 September 1989) is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder. Career Renê began his professional career on Rio de Janeiro's lower clubs, before joining Figueirense. However, one year after, he joined Es ...

in a match against

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is th ...

Chinese Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season football competition held before the season begins in China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners of top division of Professional ...

. He scored his first goal for his club on 25 February, in an

match against

FC Seoul FC Seoul ( ko, FC 서울) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS Group. They play their home games ...

. He then scored a hat-trick in the same competition, against the defending champions

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...

on 4 March. For his performance he was praised by manager

Fabio Cannavaro Fabio Cannavaro (; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of club Benevento. A centre-back, he spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napo ...

who said "Goulart is undoubtedly a great player. As an individual player or as a team player he is helping us significantly". Goulart's goal scoring form continued, as he again found the net by scoring a brace against Japanese club

Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name ''Antlers'' is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has fi ...

on 18 March 2015. In the league, he scored 19 goals as the club won their fifth title in a row. On 22 February 2016, Goulart extended his contract with Guangzhou Evergrande to 31 January 2020. He again scored 19 league goals in that year, as the club won their sixth consecutive title. In 2017, he scored a career-best 20 goals, with Guangzhou winning another title.

Loan to Palmeiras and return

On 15 January 2019, Goulart moved to

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

on a one-year deal, with a buyout clause. On 23 May, after struggling with injuries and only 12 matches, his loan was cut short and he returned to his parent club. Goulart struggled with

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injuries for the remainder of the 2019 season, and did not play a single minute as the club had four foreign players registered.

Loan to Hebei China Fortune

On 19 July 2020, Goulart joined

Hebei China Fortune Hebei Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Langfang, Hebei and their home stadium is the La ...

on loan for the remainder of the year. He contributed with 18 appearances for the side, as they were knocked out of the league by his parent club.

2021 season

Back to Guangzhou for the 2021 campaign, Goulart featured sparingly before terminating his contract in November 2021 in a mutual consent. It was reported that due to the financial difficulties of the club, the club failed to pay his wage.

Santos

On 11 January 2022,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Goulart was announced at Santos back in his home country, after agreeing to a two-year contract. He made his debut for the club on 2 February, starting in a 2–1 away win over rivals

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

. Goulart scored his first goal for ''Peixe'' on 13 February 2022, netting the winner in a 2–1 home success over Ituano. However, he struggled to establish himself as a regular starter, and terminated his contract with the club on 12 July.

International career

On 19 August 2014, Goulart was called up to the Brazil national team for two matches against

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

by new manager

Dunga Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), known as Dunga (), is a Brazilian football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Under his captaincy, Brazil won the 1994 FIFA World Cup and he lifted ...

. After being an unused substitute against the former, he made his full international debut on 9 September, in a 1–0 victory against the latter. Having only played a friendly match for Brazil, Goulart was subsequently naturalized as a Chinese citizen, being one of the six football players at the time who had no Chinese ancestry to have been naturalized as Chinese citizens, with another notable player being

Elkeson Elkeson de Oliveira Cardoso (born 13 July 1989), known as Elkeson or Ai Kesen (), is a professional footballer who plays for Brazilian club Grêmio FBPA and formerly the China national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. Starting ...

, another former Brazilian. However, it became unclear whether he would be able to represent the national team, as he did not complete the five-year residency rules after leaving the country between October 2018 and May 2019.

Style of play

A versatile, tenacious, and physically strong attacking midfielder, with an eye for goal, Goulart is also capable of playing as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, through the centre, or as a winger, on either flank. He is known in particular for his powerful ball striking, and his ability to make attacking runs into the area.

Personal life

In 2009, Goulart married Diane. His brother Juninho is also a footballer, best known for his tenure with

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

. Goulart became a naturalised Chinese citizen on 17 July 2019. After leaving Guangzhou in November 2021, Chinese media reported that he gave up on his Chinese nationality as he returned to Brazil, but he was still registered as a foreigner in the 2022 season, as he did not start the documentation process to get back his Brazilian nationality.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Internacional *

Copa FGF The Copa Federação Gaúcha de Futebol, commonly known as the Copa FGF, is an annual cup competition organized by the Rio Grande do Sul state football federation for clubs that are in the first, second and third divisions of the Campeonato Gaú ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Cruzeiro *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Guangzhou Evergrande *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh titl ...

Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season association football, football competition held before the season begins in China PR, China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Individual

: 2014 * Bola de Prata: 2014 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

* Chinese Football Association Footballer of the Year: 2015, 2016 *

Team of the Year:

Top Scorer:

Most Valuable Player:

* AFC Foreign Player of the Year: 2015 *

Most Valuable player:

Golden Boot winner:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goulart, Ricardo 1991 births Living people Brazilian people of French descent Brazilian footballers Brazil international footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Esporte Clube Santo André players Sport Club Internacional players Goiás Esporte Clube players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Guangzhou F.C. players Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Hebei F.C. players Santos FC players Esporte Clube Bahia players Expatriate footballers in China Brazilian emigrants to China Chinese Super League players Brazilian expatriate footballers People from São José dos Campos Association football midfielders Chinese footballers Naturalized citizens of the People's Republic of China Footballers from São Paulo (state)

Club career

Santo André

Loan to Internacional

Goiás

Cruzeiro

Guangzhou Evergrande

First seasons

Loan to Palmeiras and return

Loan to Hebei China Fortune

2021 season

Santos

International career

Style of play

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Individual

See also

References

External links