In his career as a midfielder, he represented teams such as Corinthians, São Paulo and Santos in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, winning the league title twice with the former and once with the latter.

Born in São Paulo, Ricardinho began his career at Paraná Clube and had one season at FC Girondins de Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1 in 1997–98.

[3] After cancelling his deal at the start of the year, Ricardinho returned to Europe on 2 February 2004 when he signed for Middlesbrough for the rest of the Premier League season.

[5] He was released on 22 April after he complained about his lack of playing time; McClaren said that he was signed to cover injuries and suspensions that had since passed.

[11] Ricardinho went for a third spell in European football in August 2006, signing a contract of two years at Beşiktaş J.K. in the Turkish Süper Lig.

[14] In May 2008, Ricardinho signed another two-year deal, with Al-Rayyan SC of the Qatar Stars League under compatriot manager Paulo Autuori.

[16] In May 2011, he was released by chairman Alexandra Kalil who had alleged that three managers requested his exit; he signed for Esporte Clube Bahia.

[18] Ricardinho was called up by Luiz Felipe Scolari for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan as a late replacement for the injured Emerson; he made the team at the expense of Alex.

[3] On 17 August 2005, Ricardinho scored his only international goal, equalising with a free kick in a 1–1 friendly draw with Croatia in Split.

[30] With two wins and four draws from ten games in the Paraná state league, Ricardinho was dismissed by Londrina Esporte Clube on 8 March 2018.