Wikipedia

Joel Castro Pereira

This article is about the goalkeeper. For the defender, see Joel Pereira (footballer, born September 1996).

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Castro and the second or paternal family name is Pereira.

Joel Dinis Castro Pereira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɛl diˈniʃ ˈkaʃtɾu pɨˈɾɐjɾɐ]; born 28 June 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League One club Reading.

Joel Castro Pereira
Pereira warming up for Manchester United in 2017
Personal information
Full name Joel Dinis Castro Pereira[1]
Date of birth (1996-06-28) 28 June 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Boudevilliers, Switzerland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Reading
Number 22
Youth career
FC Le Locle
0000–2012 Neuchâtel Xamax
2012–2015 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2021 Manchester United 1 (0)
2015–2016 → Rochdale (loan) 6 (0)
2016–2017 → Belenenses (loan) 8 (0)
2018–2019 → Vitória de Setúbal (loan) 9 (0)
2019 → Kortrijk (loan) 0 (0)
2019–2020 → Hearts (loan) 20 (0)
2020–2021 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 2 (0)
2021–2023 RKC Waalwijk 4 (0)
2023– Reading 13 (0)
International career
2011 Switzerland U15 2 (0)
2011–2012 Switzerland U16 5 (0)
2012–2013 Portugal U17 5 (0)
2013–2014 Portugal U18 3 (0)
2014–2015 Portugal U19 7 (0)
2016 Portugal U20 4 (0)
2016–2018 Portugal U21 16 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:30, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

Pereira joined Manchester United's youth system in 2012. He made three first-team appearances for the club and spent time on loan at Rochdale, Belenenses, Vitória de Setúbal, Kortrijk, Hearts and Huddersfield Town. In July 2021, he joined Dutch club RKC Waalwijk after his contract at United expired.

Pereira initially played youth international football for his country of birth, Switzerland, before making more than 30 appearances for Portugal's youth national teams.

Early life

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Pereira was born in Boudevilliers, in the Swiss Canton of Neuchâtel, to Portuguese parents from Cabeceiras de Basto.[3] In his childhood, he played football for FC Le Locle and Neuchâtel Xamax.[4]

Club career

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Manchester United

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Pereira signed for Manchester United at the age of 16 in 2012.[5] He was part of the team that won the 2014–15 Under-21 Development League title, and extended his contract on 13 August 2015, amidst a goalkeeping saga at the club.[6]

On 4 June 2021, Manchester United announced a list with eight players whose contracts are set to expire, with one of them being Joel Pereira.[7]

2015–16: Loan to Rochdale

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On 17 October 2015, he was loaned to Rochdale in Football League One for a month.[8] Later that day, he had his first senior call-up, remaining an unused substitute as the team drew 0–0 away to Bury. On 10 November 2015, he made his debut in a 1–0 loss to Morecambe at Spotland, in the quarter-finals of the Football League Trophy. Manager Keith Hill praised the goalkeeper's performance after he was named man of the match and saved a penalty kick.[9] On 19 November 2015, he extended his loan until 3 January 2016.[10] Two days later, Pereira made his Football League debut, in a 2–0 away win against Doncaster Rovers.[11] He totalled eight appearances for Rochdale, six in the league.[12]

On 25 February 2016, he had his first call-up to a senior Manchester United game, sitting on the bench for their 5–1 home win over FC Midtjylland in the last 32 second leg of the UEFA Europa League.[13]

2016–17: Loan to Belenenses and Premier League debut

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On 31 August 2016, he joined Primeira Liga club Belenenses on loan.[14] His loan spell ended on 5 January 2017, due to Manchester United's third-choice goalkeeper Sam Johnstone joining Aston Villa on loan.[15] Pereira made his Manchester United debut on 29 January 2017, in an FA Cup fourth round tie against Wigan Athletic, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for Sergio Romero.[16][17] On 21 May 2017, he started for the first time in the Premier League, against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.[18]

2017–18: New contract

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Pereira playing for United in a League Cup match against Burton Albion in 2017

On 1 July 2017, Pereira signed a four-year deal to stay at Manchester United until 2021.[19] On 20 September 2017, he appeared as a substitute against Burton Albion in the EFL Cup and conceded a last-minute goal.[20]

2018–19: Loans to Setúbal and Kortrijk

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On 2 August 2018, he joined Vitória de Setúbal on loan for the 2018–19 season.[21] After making 10 appearances in all competitions, Pereira's loan spell was terminated in January 2019 and he returned to Manchester United.[22][23] At the end of January 2019, he went out on loan again, this time to Belgium with Kortrijk.[24] He made five appearances for the club in the Europa League playoffs.[25]

2019–20: Loan to Hearts

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Pereira went out on loan again for the 2019–20 season, joining Scottish Premiership club Hearts on 13 August 2019.[26] He made his debut three days later in the second round of the Scottish League Cup, a 2–1 win at Motherwell.[27] On 25 August, he played for the first time in the Scottish Premiership, losing 3–1 away to reigning champions Celtic.[28]

In February 2020, with Hearts at the bottom of the Premiership table, Pereira was criticised for a series of mistakes, including in a 5–0 defeat to Celtic. Hearts manager Daniel Stendel admitted he was considering replacing Pereira for their next match against Hamilton Academical.[29] Pereira made 25 appearances for Hearts.[30] He was so bad, the Hearts supporters gave him the nickname "Poppadom Hands".[31]

2020–21: Loan to Huddersfield Town

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On 29 August 2020, Pereira signed for EFL Championship club Huddersfield Town on loan for the 2020–21 season.[32]

On 6 April 2021, Pereira was in goal as Norwich City thrashed Huddersfield 7–0. He was a last-minute replacement for Ryan Schofield, who was unwell.[33]

RKC Waalwijk

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On 5 July 2021, Pereira was confirmed as a new signing at the Mandemakers Stadion on a one-year deal with Eredivisie side RKC Waalwijk, with the option to extend for another year.[34]

Reading

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On 9 September 2023, he joined EFL League One club Reading on a one-year deal.[35] On 8 May 2024, Reading activated a one-year extension to Pereira's contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025.[36]

International career

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Pereira is eligible to represent Switzerland or Portugal at international level.[4] In 2011, he made two appearances for the Switzerland under-15s (against Belgium and Turkey).[37] He was promoted to the under-16s in September 2011, making his debut in a 6–2 win over Italy on 6 September, the first of five appearances in total for the under-16 team.[38] Shortly after joining Manchester United in August 2012, he was invited to play for Portugal instead.[4] He made 35 appearances for Portugal from under-17 to under-21 level.[39]

In July 2016, Pereira was selected in the Portugal under-23 squad for the 2016 Olympic Games.[40] He was an unused substitute in all four of Portugal's matches in the tournament.[25] In May 2017, he was selected in the Portugal under-21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[41]

Career statistics

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As of match played 31 August 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2015–16[12] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2016–17[42] Premier League 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2017–18[43] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2018–19[44] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2019–20[45] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2020–21[46] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Rochdale (loan) 2015–16[12] League One 6 0 1 0 0 0 — 1[a] 0 8 0
Belenenses (loan) 2016–17[47] Primeira Liga 8 0 1 0 1 0 — — 10 0
Vitória de Setúbal (loan) 2018–19[47] Primeira Liga 9 0 0 0 1 0 — — 10 0
Kortrijk (loan) 2018–19[25] First Division A 0 0 0 0 — — 5[b] 0 5 0
Hearts (loan) 2019–20[45] Scottish Premiership 20 0 2 0 3 0 — — 25 0
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2020–21[46] Championship 2 0 0 0 0 0 — — 2 0
RKC Waalwijk 2021–22[48] Eredivisie 2 0 0 0 — — — 2 0
2022–23[48] Eredivisie 2 0 1 0 — — — 3 0
Total 4 0 1 0 — — — 5 0
Reading 2023–24[49] League One 9 0 2 0 — — 3[a] 0 14 0
2024–25[50] League One 4 0 0 0 0 0 — 0[a] 0 4 0
Total 13 0 2 0 0 0 — 3 0 18 0
Career total 63 0 8 0 6 0 0 0 9 0 86 0
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in Belgian First Division A Europa League playoffs

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Joel Pereira". eredivisie.nl. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Joel Castro Pereira: um português na baliza do ManUtd". maisfutebol.iol.pt. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Entrevista com Joel Pereira: conheça o português do Man. United". maisfutebol.iol.pt. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Un Neuchâtelois à Manchester United !". rtn.ch. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  6. ^ Magan, Tony (15 August 2015). "Manchester United: Joel Pereira signs new contract amid Old Trafford goalkeeping uncertainty". International Business Times. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Confirmed: Eight Players to Leave the Club". www.manutd.com/. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Joel Castro Pereira: Manchester United goalkeeper joins Rochdale". BBC Sport. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  9. ^ Dawson, Rob (11 November 2015). "Manchester United goalkeeper Joel Castro Pereira backed to be Reds' next star". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Joel Castro Pereira: Man Utd goalkeeper returns to Rochdale". BBC Sport. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "Games played by Joel Castro Pereira in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  13. ^ Thompson, Gemma (25 February 2016). "United squad energised by injection of youth". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  14. ^ Marshall, Adam (31 August 2016). "Pereira moves to Belenenses on loan". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  15. ^ Luckhurst, Samuel (5 January 2017). "Manchester United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone leaves on loan". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Manchester United 4–0 Wigan Athletic". BBC Sport. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  17. ^ "FA Cup match report: Manchester United 4 Wigan Athletic 0". Manchester United F.C. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  18. ^ "THE TEAMS: UNITED V CRYSTAL PALACE". Manchester United F.C. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  19. ^ Myson, Chris (8 July 2017). "Man Utd keeper Joel Pereira gets four-year deal". Goal.com. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  20. ^ Ducker, James; Bagchi, Rob (20 September 2017). "Jose Mourinho suggests scrapping League Cup – 'Could English football survive without this competition? Maybe'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Man Utd keeper Joel Pereira joins Vitoria Setubal on loan". BBC Sport. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Joel Pereira regressa ao Manchester United" [Joel Pereira returns to Manchester United]. vfc.pt (in Portuguese). Vitória FC. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  23. ^ "Duo return to United from loan spells". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  24. ^ Higgins, Adam (31 January 2019). "Joel Pereira moves to Belgium on loan". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  25. ^ a b c "Joel Castro". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  26. ^ Marshall, Adam (13 August 2019). "Pereira clinches loan move to Scotland". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  27. ^ McCartney, Aidan (19 August 2019). "How Joel Pereira fared on his Hearts debut after Manchester United loan transfer". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  28. ^ Booth, Dominic (26 August 2019). "Why Manchester United player Andreas Pereira was at Celtic vs Hearts". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  29. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (14 February 2020). "Hearts: Daniel Stendel considers goalkeeper change after Joel Pereira blunders". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  30. ^ "Joel Pereira: Huddersfield Town sign Manchester United goalkeeper on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  31. ^ "How bad was Joel Pereira?!". Jambos Kickback. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  32. ^ "Goalkeeper Joel Pereira signs on loan from Man Utd". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  33. ^ "Norwich on verge of Premier League return after thrashing Huddersfield". The Guardian. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  34. ^ "RKC Waalwijk lijft doelman Joel Pereira in". RKC Waalwijk. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  35. ^ "Joel Pereira joins the royals". 9 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  36. ^ "READING FC RETAINED LIST CONFIRMED". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  37. ^ "U-15 Statistik und Resultate". football.ch. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  38. ^ "U-16 Statistik und Resultate". football.ch. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  39. ^ "Joel Pereira". fpf.pt. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  40. ^ "Bayern Munich's Renato Sanches left out of Portugal's Olympic squad". ESPN FC. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  41. ^ "Portugal squads announced for Confederations Cup / U21 Euro". Portugoal. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  42. ^ "Games played by Joel Castro Pereira in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  43. ^ "Games played by Joel Castro Pereira in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  44. ^ "Games played by Joel Castro Pereira in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  45. ^ a b "Games played by Joel Castro Pereira in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  46. ^ a b "Games played by Joel Castro Pereira in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  47. ^ a b "Joel Pereira Club Matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  48. ^ a b "Joel Pereira". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  49. ^ "Games played by Joel Castro Pereira in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  50. ^ "Games played by Joel Castro Pereira in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  51. ^ "Toulon: Joel Pereira eleito melhor guarda-redes do torneio". maisfutebol.iol.pt. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
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