Pedro Miguel Carvalho Deus Correia (Arabic: بيدرو ميغيل كارفاليو ديوس كورييا; born 6 August 1990), known as Ró-Ró (Arabic: رُو رُو), is a professional footballer who plays for Al Sadd SC and the Qatar national team as a right-back or a central defender.
![]() Ró-Ró celebrating Qatar's victory at the 2019 Asian Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Pedro Miguel Carvalho Deus Correia[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1990-08-06) 6 August 1990 (age 32)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Algueirão–Mem Martins, Portugal[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Defender | ||||||||||||||||||
Club information | |||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Al Sadd | ||||||||||||||||||
Number | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
1998–2000 | Mem Martins | ||||||||||||||||||
2000–2005 | Benfica | ||||||||||||||||||
2006 | Estrela Amadora | ||||||||||||||||||
2006–2007 | Estoril | ||||||||||||||||||
2007–2009 | Farense | ||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
2009–2010 | Farense | 18 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
2010 | Aljustrelense | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
2011–2016 | Al Ahli | 58 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
2016– | Al Sadd | 120 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||
National team‡ | |||||||||||||||||||
2016– | Qatar | 80 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:27, 17 March 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:08, 27 October 2022 (UTC) |
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.
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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5]
Ró-Ró appeared in only six matches in his first full season, and his team was also relegated from the Stars League. He joined fellow league side Al Sadd SC in 2016 and, upon his arrival, revealed his interest in playing for the Qatar national team.[6] He netted for the first time in the league for the Jesualdo Ferreira-led squad on 12 December of that year, contributing to an 8–0 home demolition of Umm Salal SC.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
Ró-Ró represented his ancestral Cape Verde at the 2009 Lusofonia Games tournament. There, his team won the gold medal.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12] He played all the matches at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, as the tournament ended in triumph in the United Arab Emirates.[13]
Ró-Ró was also called up for the country's guest appearances at the 2019 Copa América[14] and the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the latter.[15] 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.[16]
Coach Félix Sánchez called up Ró-Ró for Qatar's hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[3]
No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1. | 23 December 2017 | Al Kuwait Sports Club, Kuwait City, Kuwait | ![]() | 4–0 | 4–0 | 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup |
Al Ahli
Al Sadd
Cape Verde
Qatar
Al Sadd SC – current squad | |
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Qatar squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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