Ricardo Quaresma

Sporting CP

Quaresma was born in Lisbon. A trainee at Sporting CP's famed academy, the 17-year-old was promoted to the first team by manager László Bölöni before the start of the 2001–02 season, playing 28 Primeira Liga matches and scoring three goals as the team won the double. Under the same coach, Quaresma scored five times in the league the following campaign, but the team could only finish in third place.

Barcelona

In 2003, Quaresma was sold to Barcelona for a reported €6 million fee and the loan of Fábio Rochemback. In his first year in La Liga he made ten starts and 12 substitute appearances, scoring in the 5–0 home rout of Albacete. Quaresma injured his right foot in the final weeks of the season, forcing him to miss both the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and UEFA Euro 2004 tournaments. Shortly after, he announced his refusal to play for the Spanish club as long as manager Frank Rijkaard was in charge.

Porto

Quaresma signed for Porto in the summer of 2004 as Deco moved in the opposite direction for a fee of €15 million plus Quaresma, valued at €6 million. He started the campaign on a high note by scoring the only goal in a win against Benfica in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, and also scored in the 2–1 loss to Valencia in the UEFA Super Cup. Quaresma scored five goals in his first year at the Estádio do Dragão, and the club finished as runners-up. In the penalty shootout defeat of Once Caldas in the Intercontinental Cup, he…

A UEFA European Under-16 Championship winner with Portugal in 2000, Quaresma made his debut for the full side on 10 June 2003, in a friendly against Bolivia. Poor form during his time with Barcelona and an injury prevented him from taking part in the Under-21 Championships, Euro 2004 and the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, and he featured in the vital 2–0 victory over Slovakia, but was omitted by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari from the final squad.

In February 2007, Quaresma appeared in a friendly against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium, providing an assist in the 2–0 win and being named man of the match. On 24 March, he scored his first goal for the national team in their 4–0 defeat of Belgium in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, held in his home town. Picked for the finals in Austria and Switzerland, he replaced Simão Sabrosa for the last ten minutes of the second group match against the Czech Republic, scoring in stoppage time to contribute to a 3–1 win. He started the next match, a 0–2 loss to hosts Switzerland, when nine of the 11 regular starters were rested. In August 2010, after nearly two years of absence, Quaresma was called up for two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Cyprus and Norway to be held the next month, replacing the injured Cristiano Ronaldo. He played the full 90 minutes in the first match, a 4–4 home draw. After failing to receive any playing time at the Euro 2012 tournament, and being involved in a training…

Once described as "a mercurial, enigmatic talent", Quaresma was known for his flair and was popular for incorporating a repertoire of tricks into his style of play, including the rabona and trivela, the latter a bending shot with the outside of his right foot. A winger who could play on either flank, his crossing ability, creativity, dribbling skills, technique and poise on the ball, combined with his qualities of speed and finesse caused a regular problem for opposing defences, and also allowed him to create space for his teammates. Although he was regarded in the media as a highly promising player in his youth, his career was marked by inconsistency; moreover, his work-rate, mentality, tactical discipline and attitude were often brought into question by his managers and the media. He was also accused by certain pundits of being selfish, due to his individualistic playing style and tendency to hold on to possession excessively. In 2017, Marco Monteiro of FIFA.com described Quaresma as "insanely talented and equally temperamental." He was able to improve upon this weakness as his career progressed, with the BBC noting ahead of the 2014 World Cup that "his workrate has been exemplary since returning home," while Jonathan Liew of The Daily Telegraph commented during Euro 2016: "So it is that a player whose career was widely believed to be over now has the whole country in his hands. The veteran Quaresma is a more mature player these days, creative but reliable, unpredictable…

Quaresma is of partial Romani descent, earning him the nickname "O Cigano" ("The Gypsy"). Speaking of an alleged racial slur towards him by an opponent in 2014, he said, "When I hear people say there is no racism nowadays it makes me laugh. When something happens in Portugal it's always fault of gypsies, blacks, immigrants. It's tough to live with this." In May 2020, he spoke out against the anti-Romani rhetoric of the politician André Ventura. Quaresma was erroneously quoted by media outlets as being the great-nephew of former Portugal internationals Alfredo Quaresma and Artur Quaresma but later denied this, nonetheless citing them as "an inspiration". He is a distant cousin of fellow footballer Eduardo Quaresma. Quaresma is known for his tattoos. In 2016, he had two teardrops inked onto his face. Later that year, he had Psalm 91:4 tattooed on the back of his head. Quaresma had two sons with his partner, and a daughter from a previous relationship. A convert to Catholicism, he was baptised in July 2016 together with his sons in Pêro Pinheiro, Sintra, with teammates Eliseu and Carlos Martins being present at the event.