Joel Dinis Castro Pereira (; born 28 June 1996) 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 a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

EFL League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

club

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Pereira joined Manchester United's youth system in 2012. He made three first-team appearances for the club and spent time on loan at

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Reste ...

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...

, Hearts and Huddersfield Town. In July 2021, he joined Dutch club

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional football club based in Waalwijk, that is currently competing in the Eredivisie. Its name is derived from 'Rooms Katholieke Combinatie' ('Roman Catholic Combination' in Dutch) and was established as a merger ...

after his contract at United expired. Pereira initially played youth international football for his country of birth, Switzerland, before making more than 30 appearances for Portugal's youth national teams.

Early life

Pereira was born in

Boudevilliers Boudevilliers is a former municipality in the district of Val-de-Ruz in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The municipalities of Boudevilliers, Cernier, Chézard-Saint-Martin, Coffrane, Dombresson, Engollon, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Fontaineme ...

, in the Swiss

Canton of Neuchâtel The Republic and Canton of Neuchâtel (french: République et Canton de Neuchâtel); rm, Chantun Neuchâtel; it, Cantone di Neuchâtel is a French-speaking canton in western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782, of whom 39,654 (o ...

, to Portuguese parents from

Cabeceiras de Basto Cabeceiras de Basto () is a municipality in the district of Braga in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 16,710,Neuchâtel Xamax , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France ...

Club career

Manchester United

Pereira signed for

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

at the age of 16 in 2012. He was part of the team that won the 2014–15 Under-21 Development League title, and extended his contract on 13 August 2015, amidst a goalkeeping saga at the club. On 4 June 2021, Manchester United announced a list with eight players whose contracts are set to expire, with one of them being Joel Pereira.

2015–16: Loan to Rochdale

On 17 October 2015, he was loaned to

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

for a month. Later that day, he had his first senior call-up, remaining an unused substitute as the team drew 0–0 away to

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

. On 10 November 2015, he made his debut in a 1–0 loss to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

Spotland Spotland ( ) is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Rochdale ward name is Spotland and Falinge. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 10,805. It lies on the River Spodden, and is the home of Spotland Stadium ...

, in the quarter-finals of the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

. Manager Keith Hill praised the goalkeeper's performance after he was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

and saved a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

. On 19 November 2015, he extended his loan until 3 January 2016. Two days later, Pereira made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut, in a 2–0 away win against Doncaster Rovers. He totalled eight appearances for Rochdale, six in the league. On 25 February 2016, he had his first call-up to a senior Manchester United game, sitting on the bench for their 5–1 home win over FC Midtjylland in the last 32 second leg of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

2016–17: Loan to Belenenses and Premier League debut

On 31 August 2016, he joined

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

club

on loan. His loan spell ended on 5 January 2017, due to Manchester United's third-choice goalkeeper

Sam Johnstone Samuel Luke Johnstone (born 25 March 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for club Crystal Palace and the England national team. A product of the Manchester United academy, Johnstone spent time on loan with Old ...

joining

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on loan. Pereira made his Manchester United debut on 29 January 2017, in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

fourth round tie against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for

Sergio Romero Sergio Germán Romero (; born 22 February 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Boca Juniors. He has also played for the Argentina national team. Romero made his debut with Racing Club in the Argentine Pr ...

. On 21 May 2017, he started for the first time in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, against Crystal Palace at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

2017–18: New contract

On 1 July 2017, Pereira signed a four-year deal to stay at Manchester United until 2021. On 20 September 2017, he appeared as a substitute against Burton Albion in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

and conceded a last-minute goal.

2018–19: Loans to Setúbal and Kortrijk

On 2 August 2018, he joined

on loan for the 2018–19 season. After making 10 appearances in all competitions, Pereira's loan spell was terminated in January 2019 and he returned to Manchester United. At the end of January 2019, he went out on loan again, this time to Belgium with

. He made five appearances for the club in the Europa League playoffs.

2019–20: Loan to Hearts

Pereira went out on loan again for the 2019–20 season, joining

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

club Hearts on 13 August 2019. He made his debut three days later in the second round of the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

, a 2–1 win at

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. On 25 August, he played for the first time in the

, losing 3–1 away to reigning champions

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

. In February 2020, with Hearts at the bottom of the Premiership table, Pereira was criticised for a series of mistakes, including in a 5–0 defeat to Celtic. Hearts manager Daniel Stendel admitted he was considering replacing Pereira for their next match against Hamilton Academical. Pereira made 25 appearances for Hearts.

2020–21: Loan to Huddersfield Town

On 29 August 2020, Pereira signed for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club Huddersfield Town on loan for the 2020–21 season. On 6 April 2021, Pereira was in goal as Norwich City thrashed Huddersfield 7–0. He was a last-minute replacement for Ryan Schofield, who was unwell.

RKC Waalwijk

On 5 July 2021, Pereira was confirmed as a new signing at the

Mandemakers Stadion The Mandemakers Stadion is a multi-use stadium in Waalwijk, Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , es ...

on a one-year deal with

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

side

, with the option to extend for another year.

Reading

On 9 September 2023, he joined

club

on a one-year deal.

International career

Pereira is eligible to represent Switzerland or Portugal at international level. In 2011, he made two appearances for the Switzerland under-15s (against Belgium and Turkey). He was promoted to the under-16s in September 2011, making his debut in a 6–2 win over Italy on 6 September, the first of five appearances in total for the under-16 team. Shortly after joining Manchester United in August 2012, he was invited to play for Portugal instead. He made 35 appearances for Portugal from under-17 to under-21 level. In July 2016, Pereira was selected in the Portugal under-23 squad for the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

. He was an unused substitute in all four of Portugal's matches in the tournament. In May 2017, he was selected in the Portugal under-21 squad for the

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2017) was the 21st edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-21 na ...

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * Toulon Tournament Best Goalkeeper:

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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Joel Castro 1996 births Living people People from Val-de-Ruz District Swiss men's footballers Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Swiss people of Portuguese descent English Football League players Premier League players Rochdale A.F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players C.F. Os Belenenses players Vitória F.C. players K.V. Kortrijk players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Reading F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Switzerland men's youth international footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Portugal men's youth international footballers Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Portugal Primeira Liga players Scottish Professional Football League players Sportspeople from the canton of Neuchâtel