Ricardinho (1998) - AML/AMC - Santa Clara (Portugal, Band 2) - Contract Expiry: 2025
The playmaker has been pinched by the Mexican club Juarez, this is what we thought of him before his move!
Ricardinho was a member of our list of 56 contract expiries, which is still available to download, however, as often happens at this stage of the year, players often sign deals before they can be profiled and promoted.
The best 2025 contract expiries who are guaranteed a work permit: Subscriber Offer
It took a while, but using a bit of code, and a lot of use of Transfermarkt, I was able to whittle down a list of over 2500 players into a useable list of 56 who are all good enough and eligible to play football in England upon the expiry of their contract this year.
This has happened in Ricardinho’s case as he has agreed a deal with Mexican club Juarez. This is ranked by Opta Analyst’s club power rankings as a bit of a step down for the player, from his current Santa Clara club, but it is a move that does perhaps make more sense than a move to the UK would have done.
The reasons for this are in Alfie Randall’s first ever match report for The GBE Expert Hub. We hope that you enjoy it as a piece of work, even if we acknowledge that the value has somewhat been taken out of the player given his recent signing.
Biographical Details
Name: Ricardinho
Age/D.o.B: 26 - 6/8/1998
Citizenship: Portugal
Position(s): Attacking Midfield Left/Centre
Club: Joining FC Juarez (July 2025)
Height: 5’7
Preferred foot: Right
TM Market Value: €1,000,000
Contract: Expiry: N/A
Status
GBE Status: Pass (due to regular play at Band 2 level with Santa Clara, Portugal)
ESC Status: N/A
Relevant Data
AWRSS Best Role:
Deep Lying Forward (#18)
Wide Direct Forward (#18)
Pure Goalscorer (#24)
AWRSS Best Attributes:
Shooting
Composure (offensive)
Seasonal Data
When analysed as an attacking midfielder, we can see where his strengths and weaknesses lie. This graph shows his rating in various areas of an attacking midfielder's game. He is a very strong finisher, with good box presence, suiting a more central and advanced role where he can attack the box. His movement and 1v1 ability are good, further supporting the idea that he can find space and evade pressure in dangerous areas.
This graph shows Ricardinho’s percentile rank amongst wingers of a similar level, for key shooting metrics.
His finishing this season has been excellent, outperforming his 4.1 xG by 2.9 goals, to produce 7 goals in the equivalent of 14 games of football. He is very efficient in front of goal, getting a lot of his shots on target and increasing the quality of his chances by finishing well.
His final third conversion and box touch conversion show how frequently his possession in these areas results in a shot. Ranking towards the middle in these areas shows that he is not desperate to shoot as soon as he gets close to goal, but he is confident enough to take chances when they present themselves.
Match Info
Observed: 15th February 2025, Santa Clara vs Benfica (Liga Portugal Betclic) - High Difficulty
Final score: Santa Clara 0-1 Benfica
Shape: 5-4-1 (against 3-4-3)
Brief match report: Santa Clara faced Benfica at home, a game which ended in a 1-0 defeat for the home side. The game was relatively tight in the opening stages, with Santa Clara arguably looking the more dangerous. Benfica struggled to defend against Santa Clara’s fluid shape, but they did not create many decent chances, nor did they finish the few they had.
As the first half developed, Benfica began asserting their dominance, and were perhaps unlucky to go into half-time level. Benfica broke through in the 55th minute, during a period of advanced possession where they eventually worked the ball down the right-hand side, for Zeki Amdouni to cross low into the 6 yard box, where Bruma could finish.
Santa Clara again posed some threat in the later stages, but Benfica began to respond better to their structural transitions, defending more effectively. After receiving a red card in the 76th minute, Santa Clara were unable to find a breakthrough.
Match report
Effectiveness of role
In possession, Ricardinho moves inside from the left wing, allowing his left wing-back teammate Diego Calila to take up a more advanced position. Santa Clara play in more of a 4-3-3 shape when in possession, where he operates more as a number 10, floating centrally but with a preference to the left half-space channel.
Ricardinho was extremely effective in finding pockets of space between Benfica’s lines, giving his teammates a passing angle. He constantly found room behind the Benfica midfielders, where he could receive a pass and spin, driving forward or linking with teammates.
At times during the build-up phase, Ricardinho would even drop deeper than Calila, into an advanced left back area where he could help his defenders escape from pressure.
Out of possession, Santa Clara would settle back into their 5-4-1 shape, with Ricardinho playing as a left midfielder in the four. Occasionally, he would switch to the right side, but only following a set piece or phase of play which left the team unsettled.
Ricardinho often acted as an aggressor during their defensive phase, where Santa Clara dropped into a deep block, but some of the forward line would still apply pressure to the ball carrier. His aggression in the press was good, jumping forward at the right times to potentially steal the ball, but not so much that he broke the defensive structure.
Physical attributes
Ricardinho’s physical attributes aren't the most surprising given his position and height. His acceleration is solid but not spectacular, helping him to turn on the ball and drive, but not always allowing him to pull away from opponents with ease.
His running speed was fairly strong too, frequently creating separation from a defender when running without the ball in a transition moment. His short legs hold back his top speed, but this is not too damaging.
His most valuable physical attributes are his exceptional balance and agility. His low centre of gravity allows him to maintain balance when changing direction quickly or moving around an opponent. Combined with his short gait, he takes a lot of small steps, allowing him to navigate small areas with ease.
But one area which holds him back is his physical strength. While this is somewhat expected in a tricky winger, it holds him back significantly when dribbling and duelling. He is far too easy to move off the ball with an arm, so where he is in close proximity to a defender, they can often bring him into contact and win the duel with ease. This harms his defensive duels too, but is most notable when taking a play on 1v1. I believe he has reservations about running at defenders because of his physical weakness.
Technical skill
When on the ball, Ricardinho shows his ability to operate in small spaces thanks to his quick feet and close control. His first touch was questionable at times, not always bringing the ball under control immediately. However, once the ball has been controlled, he is very smooth and intelligent with his dribbling. He moves the ball between his feet well, utilising both sides of both feet, as well as his soles at times. Combined with his balance and agility, he can be very evasive under pressure, but does sometimes need to release the ball quickly before a defender can bring him into a duel. When taking on opponents, he utilised body feints well, as he can change direction so quickly without harming his step flow.
His final ball did not massively impress, with quite a few opportunities in the game to play a slipped through ball into the box, or find a teammate with a pass from wide. His final pass was very poor in one transition instance, during a dangerous transition, which did not even end in a shot. His vision seemed limited, struggling to understand the movements of his teammates into space. As he likes to receive the ball in narrow, half-space pockets, a better through pass would be extremely valuable to his game.
He only had one real shooting chance in the game, a 1v1 with the keeper following a fast break. This 0.24xG chance came as his teammate broke down the right-hand side, and Ricardinho showed excellent pace to catch up to the attack, pulling in front of his marker, holding his slightly wide position, giving his teammate space to pass into. The pass played into him was bobbled and took him slightly wide, in line with the side of the 6-yard box, causing him to stretch a little bit. Despite the conditions, Ricardinho took a solid effort, with his weaker left foot, producing a shot worth 0.65xGOT that the keeper saved.
Psychological & Social
Ricardinho is a very tenacious dueller, aggressive in the challenge and often trying to use his body effectively. In moments with the ball, he would aggressively shield into the opponent, using his low centre of gravity to protect the ball. Despite his poor physical strength, this was somewhat effective due to the aggression applied. This aggression was valuable defensively, while he sometimes gets pushed aside easily by the ball carrier, his tenacity did result in a fair few ball wins.
He is quite a flairy player, attempting flicks when the opportunity was there, but they didn’t seem superfluous. He wasn’t doing these to show off, but used his skill in moments to surprise the opponent.
One concern I had with his attitude was his risk aversion in attack. In many instances, he could have been proactive, taking on an opponent or trying a more adventurous pass, but opted to retain possession and play a safer pass. In some examples, the defence was somewhat unsettled, as he received the ball in these dangerous pockets of space, yet he still didn’t take advantage of this. It is worth saying that Benfica are a very strong opponent, so Ricardinho may have been more passive than usual.
Any Other Business
Ricardinho was very impressive in his off-ball movement. He found, exploited and created space, but also combined well with teammates, giving them passing options or responding to their movements.
His physical weakness without exceptional speed may make it difficult to impact the game as a winger, so I do believe he is more valuable in these central areas, primarily the left half-space channel. In these positions, he can find pockets and receive the ball well.
He is unlikely to be a ball-dominant creator, but would pair well as a sort of secondary creator, moving without the ball to link play and act as a catalyst for turning possession into chances.
His statistical profile is comparable to Jarred Bowen, Duncan Watmore, Albert Gronbaek, Mustapha Bundu and Callum Lang.
Verdict
Key strengths
Off-ball movement to create or find space
Balance and agility
Control in tight areas
Finishing
Pressing and aggression
Risks to mitigate
Weak physically, making him poor in contact
Vision and final ball
Directness (and perhaps confidence) in the final third
Current UK level recommendation
EFL: Championship (Mid-Lower level)
SPFL: SPL (Upper-level)
Potential UK level recommendation
EFL: Championship (Upper-level)
SPFL: SPL (Title Winners)