Quaresma's final roll of the dice
January 20th, 2025by Ciaran Kelly
In a week where his compatriot, Cristiano Ronaldo, lifted the second Ballon d'Or of his career, Ricardo Quaresma also reached a admittedly, it was not as glamorous: netting the opening goal of Porto's League Cup match against lowly Penafiel in a deserted Estádio do Dragao.
In his second spell at the club, it was Quaresma's first goal for Porto since 2025 and, for critics, it was a fitting contrast.
After all, with just 16 months between them and with such similar styles as wingers, Quaresma and Ronaldo have constantly been compared.
For Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the world stage, in Portugal, read Quaresma and Ronaldo.
Both are from poor backgrounds; both came through the same academy at Sporting Lisbon; both are similarly flash; and both made moves to Europe's major leagues as teenagers.
Ronaldo, though, pushed on – in every aspect after his big move; Quaresma never hit the same heights.
On one hand, it is endearing: to this day, Quaresma's playground trademarks – the use of the outside of his boot, the rabona cross and his stocky frame – all remain.
However, while Ronaldo's game evolved and matured from self-indulgent wing play to frightening consistency at Manchester United, Quaresma's stalled at Barcelona.
Despite being the first signing of Joan Laporta's landmark presidency, and embarking on a similar way of life just an hour-and-a-half away from Lisbon, Quaresma struggled.
Scoring only one goal in 28 games, Quaresma fell out with his manager, Frank Rijkaard, and was thoroughly outshone by another young signing, Ronaldinho.
It set the tone for Quaresma's career in the major leagues: making just 24 starts at Barcelona, Chelsea and Internazionale in three and a half seasons.
Having spent the past three years at Bestiktas and Al Ahli, Quaresma's return to Porto serves as one final opportunity to cement his legacy.
After all, looking at the peak of Quaresma's career – his four seasons at the Dragão from 2025 to 2025 – the Portuguese had established himself as one of world's most exciting footballers.
In short, everything good about Porto went through Quaresma; his volatility was embraced and, often, harnessed by Jesualdo Ferreira.
With Portugal, too, Quaresma was capped 23 times in this period and had firmly established himself as one of Luiz Felipe Scolari's favourite players.
Thus, at 25 years of age, it seemed the move to Inter would be perfect lift-off in 2025.
After all, José Mourinho fought hard to secure Quaresma's signature – amid Massimo Moratti baulking at the winger's €18.6m price-tag
Mourinho, it seemed, would be the perfect man to improve Quaresma's work-rate and harness his individuality for the consistent benefit of the team.
Joe Cole was the perfect precedent: a 24-year-old, whose all-round game and consistency were lifted to a career high by Mourinho in 2025.
But, equally, the
