Ricardo Esgaio

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Sousa and the second or paternal family name is Esgaio.

Ricardo de Sousa Esgaio (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiˈkaɾðu ɨʒˈɣaju]; born 16 May 1993) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Sporting CP as a right-back.

Ricardo Esgaio

Esgaio playing for Sporting CP in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Ricardo de Sousa Esgaio[1]
Date of birth	(1993-05-16) 16 May 1993 (age 31)[1]
Place of birth	Nazaré, Portugal[1]
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Sporting CP
Number	47
Youth career
2001–2005	Nazarenos
2005–2012	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2017	Sporting CP	22	(0)
2012–2017	Sporting CP B	87	(34)
2015	→ Académica (loan)	15	(0)
2017–2021	Braga	117	(6)
2021–	Sporting CP	82	(1)
International career
2008–2009	Portugal U16	9	(3)
2009–2010	Portugal U17	17	(5)
2010	Portugal U18	2	(0)
2010–2012	Portugal U19	29	(5)
2012–2013	Portugal U20	16	(1)
2013–2015	Portugal U21	18	(3)
2016	Portugal U23	5	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Portugal UEFA European Under-21 Championship Runner-up 2015 Czech Republic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:57, 6 October 2024 (UTC)

He made over 200 Primeira Liga appearances with Sporting CP (two spells), Braga and on loan at Académica, winning several cup honours with the first two as well as the 2023–24 national championship with Sporting.

Esgaio earned 96 caps for Portugal across all levels, and was selected for the 2016 Olympic tournament.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in Nazaré, Leiria District, Esgaio joined Sporting CP's youth system at the age of 12, having signed from local Grupo Desportivo os Nazarenos. On 14 December 2011 he was called for a UEFA Europa League group stage game away against SS Lazio, alongside youth graduates Betinho, Tiago Ilori, João Carlos and João Mário, as the Lions had already secured the first place in their group; he remained an unused substitute in the 2–0 loss.^[2]

On 11 August 2012, Esgaio made his senior debut with the reserves in the second division, playing 80 minutes in a 1–0 defeat at U.D. Oliveirense.^[3] He scored his first goal with the side the following matchday, the only in the home fixture against Vitória S.C. B;^[4] in his early career, he was mainly deployed as a right winger.^[5][6]

Esgaio made his first official appearance with Sporting's main squad on 7 December 2012, starting against Videoton FC in the last round of the Europa League group stage as the team were already eliminated from knockout stage contention, and featuring the entire 2–1 home win.^[7] He made his Primeira Liga debut on 5 January of the following year, playing the last minute of a 0–1 home loss to F.C. Paços de Ferreira.^[8] On 6 November 2013, back in the reserves, he netted a hat-trick in a 4–0 defeat of G.D. Chaves.^[9]

On 27 January 2015, both Esgaio and Sporting teammate Salim Cissé were loaned to fellow top-tier club Académica de Coimbra until the end of the season.^[10]

Braga

On 17 June 2017, after only 44 competitive matches for Sporting in five years,^[11] Esgaio signed a five-year contract with S.C. Braga as Rodrigo Battaglia moved in the opposite direction.^[12] In his third match for his new team, away to C.D. Aves on 20 August, he came on as a last-minute substitute and scored his first goal in the top flight to seal a 2–0 victory.^[13]

Esgaio played seven games in the side's victorious run in the Taça de Portugal, including the full 90 minutes in the final against S.L. Benfica (2–0).^[14] In the last 16, he contributed one goal to the 5–0 rout of S.C.U. Torreense on 13 January 2021.^[15]

Return to Sporting

On 3 July 2021, Esgaio returned to Sporting on a five-year deal, for a €5.5 million fee with a €45 million buyout clause.^[16] He scored his first competitive goal for the club on 30 April 2023, in the 2–1 league win over F.C. Famalicão.^[17]

Esgaio won the first national championship of his career in the 2023–24 campaign. Never an undisputed starter and often criticised for his performances, he did manage 28 appearances for the winners.^[18][19][20]

International career

Esgaio won 91 caps for Portugal at youth level. He was first choice for the under-21s at the 2015 UEFA European Championship, helping to a runner-up finish in the Czech Republic.^{[21][22][23][24][25]} He was the captain of the Olympic team at the 2016 tournament in Brazil.^[26]

Personal life

Esgaio's younger brother, Tiago, is also a footballer and a defender.^[27][6]

He married Mara Alexandre in June 2018, and the couple later had son Giovanni and daughter Layena.^[28]

Career statistics

As of match played 22 November 2024^[29]

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
Sporting CP	2011–12	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2012–13	Primeira Liga	3	0	0	0	2	0	1[a]	0	—		6	0
	2013–14	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2014–15	Primeira Liga	3	0	2	0	4	0	1[b]	0	—		10	0
	2015–16	Primeira Liga	8	0	1	0	1	0	3[a]	0	0	0	13	0
	2016–17	Primeira Liga	8	0	2	0	3	0	1[b]	0	—		14	0
	Total		22	0	5	0	11	0	6	0	—		44	0
Sporting CP B	2012–13	Liga Pro	27	17	—		—		—		—		27	17
	2013–14	Liga Pro	39	16	—		—		—		—		39	16
	2014–15	Liga Pro	8	0	—		—		—		—		8	0
	2015–16	Liga Pro	2	0	—		—		—		—		2	0
	2016–17	Liga Pro	11	1	—		—		—		—		11	1
	Total		87	34	—		—		—		—		87	34
Académica (loan)	2014–15	Primeira Liga	15	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		16	0
Braga	2017–18	Primeira Liga	30	4	2	0	4	0	12[a]	0	—		48	4
	2018–19	Primeira Liga	25	0	3	0	4	0	2[a]	0	—		34	0
	2019–20	Primeira Liga	30	1	2	0	5	0	12[a]	0	—		49	1
	2020–21	Primeira Liga	32	1	7	1	3	0	6[a]	1	—		48	3
	Total		117	6	14	1	16	0	32	1	—		179	8
Sporting CP	2021–22	Primeira Liga	27	0	5	0	3	0	8[b]	0	1[c]	0	44	0
	2022–23	Primeira Liga	25	1	0	0	4	0	9[d]	0	—		38	1
	2023–24	Primeira Liga	28	0	7	0	3	0	9[a]	0	0	0	47	0
	2024–25	Primeira Liga	2	0	2	1	1	0	1[b]	0	0	0	6	1
	Total		82	1	14	1	11	0	27	0	1	0	135	2
Career total			323	41	33	2	39	0	65	1	1	0	461	44

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
4. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Sporting CP

• Primeira Liga: 2023–24^[30]
• Taça de Portugal: 2014–15^[31]
• Taça da Liga: 2021–22^[32]
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2021^[33]

Braga

• Taça de Portugal: 2020–21^[14]
• Taça da Liga: 2019–20^[34]

Portugal U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2015^[25]

Individual

• Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2019–20^[35]

References

1. "Ricardo Esgaio" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
2. Menicucci, Paolo (14 December 2011). "Clinical Lazio through after Sporting triumph". UEFA. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
3. "Oliveirense-Sporting B, 1–0: Golo de Barry derrota jovens leões" [Oliveirense-Sporting B, 1–0: Barry goal defeats young lions]. Record (in Portuguese). 11 August 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
4. "Sporting B-V. Guimarães B, 1–0: Esgaio dá triunfo aos leões" [Sporting B-V. Guimarães B, 1–0: Esgaio gives lions win]. Record (in Portuguese). 18 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
5. "Esgaio estreia-se no Sporting" [Sporting debut for Esgaio]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 18 December 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
6. Silva, Tiago Filipe (30 November 2015). "Tiago Esgaio prefere o irmão a extremo: "Ficou com medo de arriscar"" [Tiago Esgaio prefers brother as winger: "He's now afraid of taking chances"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
7. "Sporting sign off with Videoton success". UEFA. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
8. "Paços pile more misery on Sporting". PortuGOAL. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
9. "Sporting B-Chaves, 4–0: Hat-trick de Ricardo Esgaio" [Sporting B 4–0 Chaves: Ricardo Esgaio hat-trick]. Record (in Portuguese). 6 November 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
10. "Sporting empresta Ricardo Esgaio e Cissé à Académica" [Sporting loan Ricardo Esgaio and Cissé to Académica] (in Portuguese). TSF. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
11. "Ricardo Esgaio quer em Braga os minutos que não teve no Sporting" [Ricardo Esgaio wants in Braga minutes he did not have at Sporting] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
12. Almeida, Isaura (17 June 2017). "Ricardo Esgaio assinou pelo Sp. Braga, depois de 12 anos como leão" [Ricardo Esgaio signed for Sp. Braga, after 12 years as a lion]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 October 2017.
13. "Veja o grande golo de Ricardo Esgaio frente ao Aves" [Watch Ricardo Esgaio's great goal against Aves]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 20 August 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
14. Ribeiro, Patrick (23 May 2021). "Braga beat nine-man Benfica to lift Portuguese Cup". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
15. Ferreira, Bruno José (13 January 2021). "Taça: Sp. Braga-Torreense, 5–0 (crónica)" [Cup: Sp. Braga-Torreense, 5–0 (report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
16. "Ricardo Esgaio está de volta ao Sporting" [Ricardo Esgaio back to Sporting]. Público (in Portuguese). 3 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
17. Teles, Gonçalo (30 April 2023). "Sporting vence Famalicão no dia em que Esgaio ficou a saber o que é marcar pelos leões" [Sporting beat Famalicão on the day Esgaio found out what it's like to score for the lions] (in Portuguese). TSF. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
18. Mandeiro, Nuno (7 April 2024). "Geny Catamo, quem é o herói de Alvalade que só espera "receber um beijo quando chegar a casa"" [Geny Catamo, who is the Alvalade hero that only hopes to "get a kiss when I get home"] (in Portuguese). CNN Portugal. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
19. "Ricardo Esgaio considera sair do Sporting e está aberto a propostas" [Ricardo Esgaio considers leaving Sporting and he will listen to offers] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
20. "Sporting: 29 campeões, entre eles quatro guarda-redes e um jogador... despromovido" [Sporting: 29 champions, including four goalkeepers and a... relegated player] (in Portuguese). Televisão Independente. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
21. Jurejko, Jonathan (18 June 2015). "England U21 0–1 Portugal U21". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
22. Ashby, Kevin (21 June 2015). "Improved Italy fail to break Portugal down". UEFA. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
23. Ashby, Kevin (24 June 2015). "Last-gasp Sweden join Portugal in U21 EURO semis". UEFA. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
24. Hart, Simon (27 June 2015). "Five-goal Portugal stun Germany in semi-finals". UEFA. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
25. Kell, Tom (30 June 2015). "Spot-on Sweden beat Portugal to win U21 EURO". UEFA. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
26. "Capitão de Portugal agradece apoio dos brasileiros contra a Argentina" [Portugal captain thanks Brazilians for support against Argentina] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
27. Gouveia Pereira, Miguel (9 October 2019). ""Foi graças ao meu irmão que comecei a ganhar paixão pelo futebol"" ["It was thanks to my brother I started falling in love with football"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 January 2020.
28. "Jogador do Sporting Ricardo Esgaio foi pai pela segunda vez" [Sporting player Ricardo Esgaio became a father for the second time] (in Portuguese). Notícias ao Minuto. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
29. Ricardo Esgaio at Soccerway
30. Kundert, Tom (6 May 2024). "Seven reasons Sporting are champions of Portugal". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
31. Barros, Carlos José (7 January 2015). "Sporting QB nas "meias" da Taça" [PFC Sporting in Cup "semis"] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
32. Ribeiro, Patrick (29 January 2022). "Sporting defend their Taça da Liga title in second-half turnaround versus Benfica". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
33. "Sporting CP win Supertaça with victory over SC Braga". Sporting CP. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
34. Cole, Richard (25 January 2020). "Late Ricardo Horta strike wins the Taça da Liga for Braga". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
35. Esteves Teixeira, Sofia (28 August 2020). "Do melhor jogador ao golo do ano. Confira os vencedores do Kick-Off da Liga" [From the best player to the goal of the year. Check out the League's Kick-Off winners]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 20 September 2023.

External links

• Ricardo Esgaio at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Ricardo Esgaio national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)