Ricardo Alves (footballer, born 1993)

For other people named Ricardo Alves, see Ricardo Alves (disambiguation).

Ricardo Alves

Personal information
Full name	Ricardo Alves Coelho da Silva [1]
Date of birth	(1993-03-25) 25 March 1993 (age 32) [1]
Place of birth	Lourosa, Portugal
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Position(s)	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	1	(0)
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 02:05, 11 May 2025 (UTC)

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.

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 Portuguese League Cup. ^[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.

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 ^[7] and adding one and two assists in the final of the domestic cup against NK Aluminij (6–1 in Ljubljana). ^[8]

Later career

On 6 September 2018, Alves joined Russian Premier League club FC Orenburg. ^[9] On 2 October 2020, his contract was terminated by mutual consent; ^[10] he remained in the country nonetheless, moving to Football National League side PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara in February 2021. ^[11]

Alves agreed to an 18-month contract with FC Kairat on 13 July 2021. ^[12] One year later, he left for the Persian Gulf Pro League with Tractor SC. ^[13]

Complaint against the Iranian Football League Organization to FIFA

Portuguese midfielder Ricardo Alves, who played for Tractor over the past few seasons, made a controversial move to Sepahan Esfahan ahead of the 25th Persian Gulf Pro League season. The transfer sparked protests from Tractor, which claimed Alves had a registered three-year contract with them and that his deal with Sepahan was illegal. According to Mozaffari-Zadeh, Tractor had no negotiations with Sepahan regarding Alves’ release. ^[14]

In a surprising move, the Iran Football League Organization issued Alves’ playing card for Tractor before the season began—without conducting medical tests—and officially announced that Alves had a registered contract with Tractor, making him a player of the Tabriz-based club. ^[14]

Tractor subsequently filed a complaint with FIFA against both Ricardo Alves and Sepahan, initiating proceedings in FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber. The Iranian Football Federation attempted to mediate by holding meetings between the parties, but no resolution was reached, and both sides decided to pursue their claims through FIFA. ^[14]

Eventually, the League Organization announced that, based on a ruling by the Disciplinary Committee, Alves’ playing card had been issued for Sepahan, allowing him to join the Esfahan-based team from Matchweek 4 of the league. ^[14]

Meanwhile, due to the delay in issuing his playing card during the first three weeks of the season, Ricardo Alves has filed a separate complaint with FIFA against the League Organization. Although the complaint targets the League, FIFA recognizes the national federation as the official governing body and will request clarification from the Iranian Football Federation. ^[14]

Alves’ complaint specifically refers to the failure to issue his Sepahan playing card in the early weeks of the season. In parallel, Tractor’s complaint against Alves and Sepahan remains under review in FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, and the final verdict from the governing body is still pending. ^[14]

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. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

Career statistics

As of 15 May 2025 ^{[18] [19]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		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 [a]	1	—		27	3
	2017–18	Slovenian PrvaLiga	33	10	4	1	—		0	0	—		37	11
	Total		78	15	10	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	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	0	0	0	0	0	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 [b]	2	—		22	3
	2022	Kazakhstan Premier League	13	0	0	0	—		0	0	1 [c]	0	14	0
	Total		19	0	6	1	0	0	10	2	1	0	36	3
Tractor	2022–23	Persian Gulf Pro League	26	0	1	0	—		—		—		27	0
	2023–24		28	3	2	0	—		1 [d]	0	—		31	3
	2024–25		28	3	1	0	0	0	8	2	0	0	37	5
	Total		82	6	4	0	0	0	9	2	0	0	95	8
Career total			265	30	29	2	2	0	21	5	1	0	318	37

1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
2. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa Conference League
3. Appearance in Kazakhstan Super Cup
4. Appearance in AFC Champions League

Honours

Belenenses

• Segunda Liga: 2012–13 ^[20]

Olimpija Ljubljana

• Slovenian PrvaLiga: 2015–16, ^[21] 2017–18 ^[8]
• Slovenian Football Cup: 2017–18 ^[8]

Tractor

• Persian Gulf Pro League: 2024–25 ^[19]

References

1. "Ricardo Alves" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
2. "Tiago Silva "dá" triunfo ao Belenenses" [Tiago Silva "gives" win to Belenenses] (in Portuguese). Sábado. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
3. Martins Neves, Nuno (20 January 2013). "Belenenses 0–0 Santa Clara". Açoriano Oriental (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 June 2013.
4. "Portimonense vence Olhanense em jogo particular" [Portimonense beat Olhanense in friendly game] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
5. Santos, Luís (9 June 2014). ""Não volto a cometer o erro de ser emprestado"" ["I will not make the mistake of being loaned again"] (in Portuguese). CA Notícias. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
6. "Rapid a semnat cu un fost jucător de la Porto! A participat la CM Under 20 din 2013 / VIDEO" [Rapid signed with former Porto player! Participated in the Under 20 WC in 2013 / VIDEO]. Libertatea (in Romanian). 27 February 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
7. "Eslovénia: Ricardo Alves decisivo na vitória do Olimpija" [Slovenia: Ricardo Alves decisive in Olimpija's win] (in Portuguese). Sábado. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
8. Ponte, Pedro (30 May 2018). "Eslovénia: Ricardo Alves conquista taça e festeja dobradinha" [Slovenia: Ricardo Alves conquers cup and celebrates double]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 20 September 2018.
9. Рикарду Алвеш. Полузащитник ФК "Оренбург" [Ricardo Alves. FC Orenburg midfielder] (in Russian). FC Orenburg. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
10. Рикарду Алвеш покидает ФК "Оренбург" [Ricardo Alves leaves FC Orenburg] (in Russian). FC Orenburg. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
11. "Ricardo Alves assina pelo Krylya Sovetov" [Ricardo Alves signs for Krylya Sovetov]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
12. "ОФИЦИАЛЬНО: РИКАРДУ АЛВЕШ – ИГРОК "КАЙРАТА"" [Official: Ricardo Alves – Kairat player] (in Russian). FC Kairat. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
13. "СПАСИБО РИКИ!" [Thanks Ricky!] (in Russian). FC Kairat. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
14. "شکایت ریکاردو آلوز از سازمان لیگ فوتبال ایران به فیفا - اقتصادی ها | اخبار اقتصادی ایران و جهان | eghtesadiha" (in Persian). 22 September 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
15. "Bruma brace denies Nigeria". FIFA. 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
16. "Five-star Portugal cruise through". FIFA. 27 June 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
17. "Ghana se carga a Portugal y se enfrentará a Chile en cuartos" [Ghana oust Portugal and will take on Chile in last-eight]. Marca (in Spanish). 3 July 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
18. Ricardo Alves at ForaDeJogo (archived)
19. Ricardo Alves at Soccerway
20. "Belenenses já campeão da II Liga" [Belenenses are already II League champions] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
21. Maia, Vítor (25 May 2016). "Ricardo Alves: um português campeão na Eslovénia" [Ricardo Alves: a Portuguese champion in Slovenia] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 20 September 2018.

External links

• Ricardo Alves at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• PrvaLiga profile (in Slovene)
• Ricardo Alves national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)
• Ricardo Alves – FIFA competition record (archived)