Born in Mariano Moro, Rio Grande do Sul, João Ricardo made his senior debut while at Concórdia in 2008.

In 2010 João Ricardo joined Goiânia, but returned to his previous club later in the year.

On 1 August 2012 João Ricardo signed for Paysandu, after a brief stint at Marcílio Dias.

[4] On 8 June of that year, he moved to fellow league team América Mineiro,[5] achieving promotion to Série A in 2015.

On 2 January 2019, João Ricardo joined Chapecoense on a two-year deal, as a replacement to Genoa-bound Jandrei.