Ricardo Goulart

Ricardo Goulart Pereira (born 5 June 1991), known as Ricardo Goulart, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Born in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Goulart joined Santo André's youth setup in 2006, after failed trials at São Paulo, São Caetano, Taubaté and Paulista.

Goulart started his career with Santo André in 2009, and remained at the club until 2011, with a loan to Internacional.

In the 2009 season, after being the under-20's top scorer in the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, he was then promoted to the first team.

Goulart made his first team debut for Ramalhão on 25 February 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring the equalizer in a 2–1 Campeonato Paulista home win over Ituano.

He scored four times in 12 appearances in the competition, as the club finished sixth.

Goulart made his Série A debut on 24 May 2009, replacing Antônio Flávio in a 1–2 home loss against Flamengo.

He scored his first goal in the category on 25 July, but in a 2–3 loss at Grêmio, and featured sparingly in the league as his side suffered relegation.

On 19 May 2010, Goulart was loaned to Internacional for one year, and was initially assigned to the B-team.

After winning the 2010 Copa FGF with the B's, Goulart was included in the main squad ahead of the 2011 campaign, and started the season as a starter.

However, after the arrival of Dorival Júnior as manager, he lost space in the main squad and returned to his parent club when his loan expired in December 2011; Santo André also refused to keep him, and he was subsequently released.

On 28 December 2011, Goulart agreed to a contract with Série B Goiás for the ensuing campaign.

He made his debut for the club on 22 January, starting in a 5–0 Campeonato Goiano home routing of Aparecidense, and scored his first goal three days later in a 4–2 win at Morrinhos.

He played the 2012 season Goiás in the second tier, before joining Cruzeiro the following year.

An immediate starter, Goulart won the 2012 Campeonato Goiano and the 2012 Série B with the side, scoring 25 goals overall and providing 14 assists as the club returned to the top tier.

He notably scored three braces in the campaign, against Goianésia (2–1 home win), Ipatinga (6–0 away win) and Guaratinguetá (3–0 away win).

On 5 January 2013, Goulart was announced at Cruzeiro in the top tier.

He made his debut for the club on 3 February, starting in a 2–1 Campeonato Mineiro home win over rivals Atlético Mineiro, and scored his first goal on 24 March in a 2–1 home win over Caldense.

Goulart was the league top scorer of Cruzeiro in his first season (along with Borges), scoring 10 goals as the club lifted the trophy.

At Cruzeiro, Goulart cemented a place in the first team, and during his two-year stint, he made a total of 99 appearances and scored 34 times, winning the 2014 Brasileiro with the club.

His personal awards include the 2014 Bola de Ouro, besides featuring in the team of the season.

Goulart made his international debut for the Brazil national football team against Colombia in 2014.

In August 2014, after winning the 2014 Mineiro, he was targeted by French club Monaco, but the offer was refused by Cruzeiro.

In the 2014 Copa Libertadores, Goulart was again the club's top goalscorer (along with Bruno Rodrigo), scoring four goals (including a hat-trick in a 5–1 home routing of Universidad de Chile) as his side was knocked out in the quarterfinals.

In the year's Série A, he scored 15 goals and was the club's top goalscorer as they lifted a second consecutive league title.

He was also named in the team of the season by CBF, and won the Bola de Ouro and Bola de Prata awards by Placar.

In 2015, he entered Asian football by signing for Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande, where he won the Chinese Super League and AFC Champions League in his first season.

In early January 2015, Goulart was linked to a move away from Cruzeiro to China and Mexico.

On 13 January, he signed for Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande for € 15 million, on a four-year contract, being handed the no 11 jersey.

It was the highest transfer fee paid by a Chinese club.

Goulart made his debut on 14 February 2015, replacing countryman Renê Júnior in a match against Shandong Luneng in Chinese Super Cup.

He scored his first goal for his club on 25 February, in an AFC Champions League match against FC Seoul.

He then scored a hat-trick in the same competition, against the defending champions Western Sydney Wanderers on 4 March.

For his performance he was praised by manager Fabio Cannavaro who said "Goulart is undoubtedly a great player. As an individual player or as a team player he is helping us significantly".

Goulart's goal scoring form continued, as he again found the net by scoring a brace against Japanese club Kashima Antlers on 18 March 2015.

In the league, he scored 19 goals as the club won their fifth title in a row.

On 22 February 2016, Goulart extended his contract with Guangzhou Evergrande to 31 January 2020.

He again scored 19 league goals in that year, as the club won their sixth consecutive title.

In 2017, he scored a career-best 20 goals, with Guangzhou winning another title.

On 15 January 2019, Goulart moved to Palmeiras on a one-year deal, with a buyout clause.