Ricardo Pereira: Eight Years On The Leicester City Rollercoaster

In the eight years he’s been at Leicester, the club has been on somewhat of a rollercoaster ride, and the full-back has arguably endured more individual ups and downs than anyone else.

As the dust settles at the end of this season, and Ricardo’s Leicester career, we take a look back at the likeable Portuguese’s time with us.

WIN A SIGNED, FRAMED RICARDO LEICESTER SHIRT! Subscribe to For Fox Sake before 11.59pm on Thursday 28th May to be automatically entered into the draw. Already a member? Fantastic, your name is already in the draw!  

The Beginning

Ricardo Pereira arrived in the East Midlands in the summer of 2018 for a fee of around €25 million. He had won the Portuguese Primeira Liga with Porto that season, and featured for Portugal at the World Cup in Russia.

Prior to that title-winning season, he had spent two years on loan in France at Nice, managed by Claude Puel, the Leicester manager who brought Ricardo to the East Midlands.

He made his debut on the opening day of the Premier League season at Old Trafford, starting on the right side of midfield in a 2-1 defeat.

His first City goal came on his 25th birthday, and it was an absolute beauty. Starting in his own half, he made a trademark burst forward, exchanged a one-two with Kelechi Iheanacho, beat the defender one-vs-one and fired past Jordan Pickford to equalise against Everton at the King Power, in what eventually finished as a 2-1 defeat.

The Blue Army were already well on board with the new signing: welcome to Leicester, Ricky P!  

The Good

Although he arrived on Filbert Way two years after the world-famous Premier League title-winning season, Ricardo Pereira still enjoyed plenty of success with the football club.

He collected numerous team and personal accolades in his time at Leicester, including an FA Cup, a Community Shield and a Championship title.

An impressive first season in English football saw Ricardo double up at the club’s end of season awards, picking up the Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season trophies having missed only three Premier League games as City finished ninth, parting ways with Claude Puel and replacing him with Brendan Rodgers in February 2019.

In the 2019/20 season, Ricardo made 33 appearances as Leicester finished fifth in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup, and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Glory in the world’s oldest football competition was to come the following year. Ricardo started in the fourth round victory over Brentford after a long injury lay-off (more on those in a moment) playing three-quarters of the match as City survived an early scare to win 3-1 courtesy of goals from Cengiz Under, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison.

He then played an hour of the semi-final win over Southampton at Wembley, as just 4,000 fans saw cup specialist Iheanacho score the only goal of the game ten minutes into the second half.

Ricardo was an unused substitute for the final itself – not involved on the pitch, but certainly involved in the post-match celebrations, as he enjoyed picking up his first title as a Leicester City player: the club’s first ever FA Cup triumph.

Leicester faced Manchester City in the Community Shield to kick off the 2021/22 season, and Ricardo played the full 90 minutes as the Foxes caused yet another upset against one of the Premier League’s big boys thanks to a last-minute penalty converted by Iheanacho.

The third and final title of Ricardo’s City career came under Enzo Maresca, as he stepped up to excel in the unfamiliar inverted full-back role.

Stepping into midfield alongside Harry Winks, Ricardo’s technical ability and versatility were crucial to the style of football which saw City clinch top spot with 97 points, and earn an immediate return to the Premier League.  

The Bad

Whilst Ricardo won three trophies during his time at the club, he also suffered three relegations, a statistic which perfectly highlights the extraordinary range of highs and lows he has experienced over the last eight years.

Most City fans would agree that Ricardo’s performance levels have declined during his time at the club, and that personal downward trend is mirrored by that of the club.

Each relegation he has endured has come in the second half of his City career – the last four seasons. However, there can’t be a huge amount of blame laid at his door, given that he only managed to feature ten times in each of the Premier League relegation campaigns of 2022/23 and 2024/25.

Pre-season dreams in the summer of 2025 would have seen him lead Leicester to be challenging near the top of the Championship table, but the nightmare season that actually unfolded will leave a sour taste, both for Ricardo and the City faithful.  

The Ugly

It’s impossible to write a piece on Ricardo’s Leicester career without discussing the dreaded injury record.

It really is a shame that somebody so talented, and so important to the team, has been so badly affected by a number of serious, long-term injuries.

The first of them struck in March 2020. Ricardo had played 28 of Leicester’s 29 games so far that season before he suffered an ACL injury in a 4-0 win against Aston Villa.

City were very much in the hunt for a Champions League place at that stage, but would go on to win only two more games that season, eventually finishing fifth.

That game against Villa was the final match before a three-month break enforced by the developing Covid-19 situation, so it was likely that that played a significant role in upsetting Leicester’s season, but to not have Ricardo to call upon when the league resumed, also had an impact.

He returned to action in the Europa League in December, but had to come off at half time against Zorya Luhansk with a groin injury, which saw him miss the next ten games.

City fans were already beginning to wonder if he was cursed.

Community Shield success was followed by an excellent performance and an assist on the opening day of the 2021/22 season. The Blue Army were hoping that Ricardo was back to his best.

But he featured sporadically for the next few months, a couple of more minor injuries resulting in him being in and out of the squad.

Having not played since 7th November, Ricardo started the League Cup quarter-final against Liverpool on 22nd December, but lasted only 42 minutes before breaking his fibula after a horrific tackle by youngster Tyler Morton.

He faced another lengthy spell on the sidelines, and would go on to make just 12 further appearances that season.

Ricardo was enjoying a normal pre-season in the summer of 2022, hoping to start the season fully fit, ready to get back to his best. Disaster struck once again, though, as he ruptured his achilles in Leicester’s final pre-season friendly against Sevilla.

He didn’t return to action until February and didn’t complete 90 minutes in a senior match until March – the first of only three times he played the full match that season.

Ricardo was an injured passenger as Rodgers’s prediction came true and Leicester were relegated, paying the price for initially punching above their weight, and then failing to get recruitment and squad refreshes right.

That season in the second tier was pretty much injury free, and Ricardo played a big part in City’s instant return to the top flight.

However, he struggled to get into the side under Steve Cooper at the beginning of the 2024/25 season, featuring only four times before a hamstring injury suffered in November wiped out a massive chunk of yet another season.

He didn’t make it back into the first team until March 2025, struggling - as he had in the past – to find full fitness again and failing to complete 90 minutes in a league game all season.

A hamstring injury curtailed his pre-season prior to the most recent campaign, but he came back with a bang in August to score twice in his first three games.

They were his only two goals of the season, though, and despite playing 38 of the 46 Championship games, City’s club captain was unable to prevent back-to-back relegations.  

The Legacy

Ricardo Pereira is one of the nicest and most likeable players to have worn a Leicester City shirt. He has seen plenty of players and managers come in and out of the club during his time, but he has always conducted himself with professionalism and honesty.

The way he spoke to the media and the fans came across as entirely genuine. He cared about the club and the fans definitely shared his frustration when he was unable to contribute on the pitch.

His team-mates all respected him: he was named club captain and took on more and more responsibility as the years went on. The guard of honour they bestowed upon him in his final training session at Seagrave was evidence of how well-liked he was amongst his peers.

And, despite a very difficult season with very few feelgood moments, the Leicester fans at Ewood Park on Saturday showered him with songs, adulation, and gratitude for his service to the club.

The tears flowed from our no.21 as he waved goodbye to the City supporters for one last time.  

The Next Step

Wherever he goes next, there will be plenty of Leicester supporters who will keep an eye on his progress and his new team’s results.

It’s difficult to see him staying in English football given his affinity with Leicester, and his well-known injury record.

A move to Europe may well be on the cards, possibly a return to either France or his homeland of Portugal.

His professional career began at Vitoria back in 2012 – could the 32-year-old go back to where it all began to see out his career?

One thing’s for sure, after 220 appearances, eight years and plenty of happy memories, Ricardo Pereira will always have a home at Leicester City Football Club.