Ricardo José Araújo Ferreira (born 25 November 1992) is a professional

soccer player 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 ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. After finishing his youth career with

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, he went to play for Empoli, Olhanense,

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

, Belenenses SAD and Farense, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 65 matches and two goals over seven seasons. Ferreira formerly represented

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

internationally, switching to the Canada national team in 2021.

Club career

Born in Mississauga,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada to Portuguese parents, Ferreira started playing soccer with Canadian youth clubs Dixie SC, Brampton Youth SC, before moving to Major League Soccer club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

TFC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 young players. The senior academy team is ...

, where he was part of the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...

national training centre program and Ontario's youth select teams. In 2008 at the age of 15, Ferreira transferred Portugal's FC Porto in the Primeira Liga. He was included in their

2010–11 UEFA Europa League The 2010–11 UEFA Europa League was the second season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 40th edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began ...

squad list, but never made an official appearance for the first team. On 8 July 2011, Ferreira signed for

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

on a free transfer. For the 2012–13 season, he was loaned to fellow Italian side Empoli F.C. in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

. He made his professional debut on 25 September 2012, coming on as a substitute for Vincent Laurini in the 29th minute of an eventual 2–0 away loss against Calcio Padova. Ferreira returned to Portugal with S.C. Olhanense of the Primeira Liga in July 2013, where he largely spent his time as a backup. The following campaign, he was loaned to

F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal s ...

of the same division. For 2015–16, Ferreira joined

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese ...

on a four-year deal. He contributed nine appearances in their quarter-final run in the

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 ...

, scoring in the group stage against

FC Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domestic ...

in a 2–1 home win, but twice scored an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

in the 4–0 away defeat to FC Shakhtar Donetsk which finished 6–1 on aggregate. In a friendly against English club

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, ...

in July 2016, Ferreira suffered a knee injury that meant he missed the start of the 2016-17 season. On 3 January 2018, during the first half of the league fixture away to

Boavista F.C. Boavista Futebol Clube, commonly known as Boavista (), is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Porto. Founded on 1 August 1903 by British entrepreneurs and Portuguese textile workers (thus the "FC" being appended – the British way as oppos ...

, Ferreira suffered another knee injury and was sidelined for the rest of the season. Exactly one year later, while appearing in a LigaPro match for S.C. Braga B team, the injury recurred. In May 2019, Braga announced his contract would not be renewed at the end of the campaign, making him a

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 ...

. Ferreira was without a club until 31 January 2020, when he signed a short-term deal with Belenenses SAD until the summer. He played only five matches during his spell. Ferreira agreed to a one-year deal at newly promoted S.C. Farense on 30 September 2020, but agreed to a mutual termination to his contract in January 2021, after struggling to progress into the first team and making only one appearance.

International career

Portugal

Canadian-born, Ferreira chose to represent

internationally, going on to win 22

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

at youth level. His only appearance for the under-21 team came on 15 October 2012, in a 1–0 friendly loss against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Ferreira first appeared with the senior side on 14 November 2017, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 friendly draw with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada

On 5 February 2021, Ferreira announced a change of national associations and became eligible to represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He received his first call-up a month later for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against

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and the Cayman Islands, making his debut on 29 March in the 11–0 victory over the latter nation.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Braga *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

: 2015–16

References

External links

* *
La Gazzetta dello Sport profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreira, Ricardo 1992 births Living people Canadian people of Portuguese descent Sportspeople of Portuguese descent Soccer players from Mississauga Portuguese men's footballers Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Serie B players AC Milan players Empoli FC players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players S.C. Olhanense players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players S.C. Braga players S.C. Braga B players B-SAD players S.C. Farense players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers Canada men's international soccer players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Dual men's international footballers