He spent most of his professional career with Boavista and Sporting CP, helping the former to its only Primeira Liga title and appearing in 158 official matches with the latter, winning one Taça de Portugal.

[10] An undisputed starter from his beginnings, he backstopped the side to the final of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, a 3–1 loss to CSKA Moscow (the game was played at the Estádio José Alvalade).

[12] His league debut took place against Recreativo de Huelva on 26 August, a 1–1 away draw;[13] having started the season as first-choice, he eventually lost the position to trainee Casto, but would regain his status for two of the last three games as the Andalusians avoided relegation.

[16] Ricardo started training with Football League Championship side Leicester City,[17] and joined the team on 31 January 2011, signing until the end of the season,[18] and citing manager Sven-Göran Eriksson as his motivation for making the move.

[23] Ricardo made his debut for the Portugal national team on 2 June 2001 against the Republic of Ireland,[24][3] taking the place of Vítor Baía who was recovering from a serious knee injury.

[30] Despite some criticism, Ricardo remained first-choice in Euro 2008, playing all of the matches as Portugal was eliminated by Germany 3–2 in the quarter-finals, where he misjudged two clearances which led to headed goals.