Ironically, Sven-Goran Eriksson signed the Portugal goalkeeper after he'd twice provided penalty shoot-out heroics to see Portugal through, and knock Eriksson's England out, of Euro 2006 and the 2008 World Cup. Arriving in Leicester in his 'twilight years', Ricardo came in during a season that City struggled to maintain a constant number one. Chris Kirkland had ended his loan spell and returned to Wigan Athletic due to a back injury and Eriksson looked to Ricardo to solve his goalkeeping crisis.
He was a free agent following a spell playing for Spanish side Real Betis and had made his name with Portugal clubs Boavista, where he won the league and Sporting Lisbon. He arrived on trial with City and impressed Eriksson enough to earn a deal until the end of the season, but it's fair to say City fans didn't see the best of the stopper during his brief stint at the club. He kept a clean sheet on his debut, in a 2-0 victory over Derby County, and made eight appearances for the Foxes. But the club decided against offering him a new deal in the summer and Ricardo left the club.