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 Taça da Liga.
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. In the ensuing summer he was loaned to Portimonense S.C. in the same league, which he later considered to be a "step back" in his career.
Olimpija In the summer of 2015, after a short spell in Romania with FC Rapid București, 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 and adding one and two assists in the final of the domestic cup against NK Aluminij (6–1 in Ljubljana).
Later career On 6 September 2018, Alves joined Russian Premier League club FC Orenburg. On 2 October 2020, his contract was terminated by mutual consent; he remained in the country nonetheless, moving to Football National League side PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara in February 2021.
Alves agreed to an 18-month contract with FC Kairat on 13 July 2021. One year later, he left for the Persian Gulf Pro League with Tractor SC. He won the national championship in his third season with the latter; one of his three goals was scored in the decisive match, from a penalty kick to close a 4–0 away win over Shams Azar FC.
Alves continued in the Iranian top division for 2025–26, with the 32-year-old joining Sepahan SC. The transfer sparked protests from Tractor, who claimed that he had a registered three-year contract with them. They subsequently filed a complaint with FIFA against both the club and the player; additionally, Alves took to the governing body to press charges against the Iranian Football League, citing lack of expedition in the handling of his case.
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.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBelenenses 2012–13Segunda Liga1312000——172Portimonense (loan)2013–14Segunda Liga1510020——181Rapid București 2014–15Liga I7000———70Olimpija 2015–16Slovenian PrvaLiga24320———2632016–17Slovenian PrvaLiga21240—21—2732017–18Slovenian PrvaLiga331041—00—3711Total7815101—21—9017Orenburg2018–19Russian Premier League10330———1332019–20Russian Premier League21310———2232020–21Russian First League8100———81Total39740———437Krylia Sovetov2020–21Russian First League12030———150Kairat2021Kazakhstan Premier League6061—102—2232022Kazakhstan Premier League13000—0010140Total19061—10210363Tractor2022–23Persian Gulf Pro League26010———2702023–24Persian Gulf Pro League28320—10—3132024–25Persian Gulf Pro League28310—8200375Total82640—9200958Career total26530292202151031837
Honours Belenenses Segunda Liga: 2012–13
Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenian PrvaLiga: 2015–16, 2017–18 Slovenian Football Cup: 2017–18
Tractor Persian Gulf Pro League: 2024–25
References
External links
PrvaLiga profile