Ró-Ró is a professional footballer who plays for Al Sadd SC and the Qatar national team as a right-back or a central defender.

Having played lower-league football in Portugal, he appeared for Al Ahli and Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League after arriving in the country in January 2011. He won several honours with the latter, including three league titles.

Born in Portugal, Ró-Ró represented Qatar at international level. He was part of the squads at the 2019 Asian Cup, 2019 Copa América, 2021 Gold Cup and 2022 World Cup, winning the first of those tournaments.

Club career

Born in Algueirão–Mem Martins, Sintra, Portugal of Cape Verdean descent, Ró-Ró received his nickname in tribute to his idols, the Brazilian internationals Ronaldo and Romário. He played for several clubs as a youth, including S.L. Benfica where he spent nearly six seasons, and made his senior debut with S.C. Farense in the fourth division in 2009; he switched the following season to another team in that tier, S.C. Mineiro Aljustrelense.

In January 2011, Ró-Ró left his country of birth and signed for Al Ahli SC (Doha) in Qatar. He scored his first goal against Al Kharaitiyat SC on 7 January 2012, but in a 2–4 loss.

At the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup on home soil, Ró-Ró scored in extra time as Al Sadd won 3–1 against New Caledonia's Hienghène Sport in the first round. Playing in an attacking formation under former teammate Xavi, he was a league winner again in 2020–21, in addition to winning two national cups.

Ró-Ró represented his ancestral Cape Verde at the 2009 Lusofonia Games tournament. There, his team won the gold medal.

On 29 March 2016, Ró-Ró made his debut for Qatar, starting in a 2–0 away loss to China for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. On 23 December 2017, he scored his first goal to conclude a 4–0 victory over Yemen at the 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup; the side exited in the group stage in Kuwait. He played all the matches at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, as the tournament ended in triumph in the United Arab Emirates.

Ró-Ró was also called up for the country's guest appearances at the 2019 Copa América and the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the latter. At the inaugural FIFA Arab Cup, in which Qatar came third on home turf that December, his campaign ended with a first-half injury against Oman in the second group game.

Coach Félix Sánchez called up Ró-Ró for Qatar's hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.