Paulo Ricardo (footballer, born 1994)

Paulo Ricardo Ferreira (born 13 June 1994), known as Paulo Ricardo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Veikkausliiga club Kuopion Palloseura. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a defensive midfielder.

Paulo Ricardo

Personal information
Full name	Paulo Ricardo Ferreira
Date of birth	(1994-06-13) 13 June 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth	Laguna, Brazil
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	KuPS
Number	4
Youth career
2008–2009	Atlético Catarinense
2009	Brusque
2009–2012	Figueirense
2012–2014	Santos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2017	Santos	13	(0)
2016–2017	→ Sion (loan)	15	(2)
2016–2017	→ Sion II (loan)	4	(0)
2017–2019	Sion	17	(0)
2018–2019	→ Fluminense (loan)	9	(0)
2019	→ Goiás (loan)	1	(0)
2020–2021	Figueirense	30	(1)
2021–2022	KuPS	37	(2)
2023–2024	Al-Hazem	44	(3)
2024–2025	Al-Urooba	6	(0)
2025–	KuPS	2	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 June 2025

Club career

Born in Laguna, Santa Catarina, Paulo Ricardo joined Santos' youth system in 2012, aged 18, after stints with Atlético Catarinense, Brusque and Figueirense. At the latter he also suffered with recurrent back injuries which included a vertebral fracture.^[1]

On 21 March 2014 Paulo Ricardo signed a new deal with Peixe, running until 2017.^[2] He made his first team debut on 18 July, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 home success against Palmeiras for the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championship.^[3]

On 26 April 2015, after Werley's illness and Gustavo Henrique's injury, Paulo Ricardo was made a starter in 2015 Campeonato Paulista final against Palmeiras, but was sent off after committing a penalty in a 1–0 away loss.^[4] He appeared more regularly with the club during the campaign, being sometimes utilized as a defensive midfielder by manager Dorival Júnior.^[5]

On 7 July 2016, Paulo Ricardo was loaned to FC Sion for one year.^[6] He made his debut for the club on 10 August, starting in a 3–1 away loss against FC Lugano.

On 24 July 2017, Paulo Ricardo joined Sion permanently, with Santos receiving a compensation fee.^[7] On 8 August of the following year, he returned to his homeland after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with Fluminense.^[8]

In the summer of 2021, he moved to the Finnish club Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in the country's top-tier Veikkausliiga.^[9] During his time with KuPS, the club won two Finnish Cup titles, and finished twice as the Veikkausliiga runner-up, losing the title to HJK Helsinki with one point difference on both occasions.^[10]

On 22 January 2023, Ricardo joined Saudi club Al-Hazem for an undisclosed fee.^[11]

On 4 July 2024, Ricardo joined Al-Urooba.^[12]

On 14 May 2025, it was announced that Ricardo would return to Finland and KuPS, on a deal for the remainder of the season, starting officially on 1 June.^[13]

Career statistics

As of 1 April 2025^[14]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State League		National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santos	2014	Série A	1	0	—		1	0	—		—		2	0
	2015	Série A	11	0	1[c]	0	6	0	—		—		18	0
	2016	Série A	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
	Total		12	0	1	0	7	0	—		—		20	0
Sion II (loan)	2016–17	Swiss Promotion League	4	0	—		—		—		—		4	0
Sion	2016–17	Swiss Super League	15	2	—		3	0	—		—		18	2
	2017–18	Swiss Super League	17	0	—		3	0	—		2[d]	0	22	0
	Total		32	2	—		5	0	—		2	0	39	2
Fluminense (loan)	2018	Série A	9	0	—		—		—		3[e]	0	12	0
	2019	Série A	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		1[e]	0	1	0
	Total		9	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0	13	0
Goiás (loan)	2019	Série A	1	0	—		—		2	0	—		3	0
Figueirense	2020	Série B	12	1	7[f]	0	4	0	—		—		23	1
	2021	Série C	0	0	11[f]	0	1	0	—		—		12	0
	Total		12	1	18	0	5	0	—		—		35	1
KuPS	2021	Veikkausliiga	13	2	–		0	0	–		1[g]	0	14	2
	2022	Veikkausliiga	24	0	–		5	0	4	0	4[g]	0	37	0
	Total		37	2	–	–	5	0	4	0	5	0	51	2
Al-Hazem	2022–23	Saudi First Division	17	0	–		0	0	–		–		17	0
	2023–24	Saudi Pro League	27	3	–		2	0	–		–		29	3
	Total		44	3	–	–	2	0	–	–	–	–	46	3
Al-Urooba	2024–25	UAE Pro League	6	0	–		0	0	2	0	–		8	0
KuPS	2025	Veikkausliiga	0	0	–		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			157	8	19	0	24	0	8	0	11	0	219	8

1. Includes Copa do Brasil, Swiss Cup, Suomen Cup and Saudi King's Cup
2. Includes Copa Verde, Finnish League Cup and UAE League Cup
3. Includes Campeonato Paulista
4. Includes UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
6. Includes Campeonato Catarinense
7. Includes UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Santos

• Campeonato Paulista: 2015

KuPS

• Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2021, 2022
• Finnish Cup: 2021, 2022

Al-Hazem

• Saudi First Division League runner-up: 2022–23

Individual

• Veikkausliiga Defender of the Year: 2022^[15]
• Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2022^[16]