Ricardo Costa

Porto

Costa, a product of Boavista FC's youth system, was born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto District, and moved to neighbours FC Porto when he was still an apprentice. He made his Primeira Liga debut in a 20 January 2002 derby precisely against Boavista (2–0 away loss, 90 minutes played), but never became more than a fringe player, being preferred in the stopper's pecking order in consecutive seasons to namesake Jorge, Pedro Emanuel, Pepe and Bruno Alves. On 21 May 2003, Costa replaced the injured Costinha in the first minutes of the 2003 UEFA Cup final in Seville, which ended in a 3–2 win over Celtic.

Wolfsburg

In July 2007, as first-team opportunities appeared few at Porto, Costa signed with Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg on a three-year contract. After a shaky start, he finished the season as an undisputed starter as the side qualified for the UEFA Cup. Costa scored just 15 seconds after his introduction in a match against Karlsruher SC on 28 September 2008, making it the second-fastest goal ever scored by a substitute. In the summer of 2009, he was about to be transferred to Real Zaragoza, but the deal collapsed after the two parties could not reach an agreement; the move was finally cancelled on 29 July, and the player returned to Wolfsburg. On 28 January 2010, although he was being used regularly, Costa joined Lille OSC in France.

Valencia

On 17 May 2010, after having contributed relatively to Lille's fourth place in Ligue 1, he moved teams…

Costa played for Portugal at under-21 level and was also a part of the Olympic team that played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. A full international since 2005, he was called up to the squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared against Germany in the 3–1 third-place playoff loss. On 10 May 2010, national team boss Carlos Queiroz announced a provisional list of 24 players in view for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with Costa being included, thus returning to the squad after a four-year absence. He played twice in the tournament, always as right-back: in the 0–0 group stage draw against Brazil, and the round-of-16 defeat to Spain (1–0, where he was sent off in the last minute, receiving a three-match ban for his actions). Costa played and started two games in the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign. He scored his only international goal on 11 October 2013 in a 1–1 home draw against Israel, and was named by manager Paulo Bento in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Brazil. On 16 June 2014, Costa became the second Portuguese to play in three World Cups after Cristiano Ronaldo did so in the same match, coming on for the second half of the first group stage match against Germany, a 4–0 loss. He was then selected to replace the suspended Pepe in a 2–2 draw with the United States, making a goal-line clearance from Michael Bradley in the second half.

On 18 July 2022, Costa was named manager of Porto's under-17 team. Previously, he was part of the staff at the club's under-19s. On 8 July 2024, Costa was appointed at FC Dila Gori in the Georgian Erovnuli Liga. He achieved a third place in his first season, collecting eight wins from 18 matches. Costa returned to Portugal in June 2025, on a contract at Liga Portugal 2 side C.D. Feirense. For the following campaign, he remained in the league as head coach of his former employers Tondela.

Club

As of match played on 13 May 2018

International