# Ró-Ró
**Ró-Ró** is the nickname of Pedro Miguel Carvalho Deus Correia (born 1990), a Portuguese-born Qatari professional footballer who plays as a defender for Al-Sadd SC in the [Qatar Stars League](https://www.edgepedia.org/qatar-stars-league) and captains the Qatar national team.[1](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070?redird=1) • [2](https://www.dn.pt/arquivo/diario-de-noticias/as-escolhas-do-anfitriao-15343144.html) Born in Portugal to parents of Cape Verdean origin, he moved to Qatar in 2010, became a Qatari citizen in 2016, and has since won the [AFC Asian Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/afc-asian-cup) with Qatar in 2019 and 2024 and scored the goal that qualified Qatar for the 2026 [FIFA World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-world-cup).[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Pedro Miguel Carvalho Deus Correia[1](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070?redird=1) |
| Born | 1990, Algueirão-Mem Martins, Portugal; Qatari and Cape Verdean nationality[1](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070?redird=1) |
| Position | Centre-back and right-back; right-footed[1](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070?redird=1) |
| Club career | Al Ahli (2011–2015), Al-Sadd (2015–present); contract to June 2030[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) • [1](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070?redird=1) |
| Al-Sadd honors | Five league titles, three cups, and four League Cups[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) |
| International | Qatar since 2016; 98 caps by October 2025 (zerozero.pt lists 110 caps and 3 goals); 2019 and 2024 Asian Cup winner[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) • [1](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070?redird=1) |
| World Cups | 2022 squad member; 2026 qualifier decided by his goal against the UAE[2](https://www.dn.pt/arquivo/diario-de-noticias/as-escolhas-do-anfitriao-15343144.html) • [3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) • [10](https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/attacking_trio_to_lead_qatars_charge.html) |
## Early life and youth career in Portugal
Ró-Ró was born in Algueirão-Mem Martins, in the municipality of Sintra near Lisbon, and grew up in the Casal de São José neighborhood of the town.[1](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070?redird=1) • [2](https://www.dn.pt/arquivo/diario-de-noticias/as-escolhas-do-anfitriao-15343144.html) He began playing football at age seven at the local club Mem Martins SC, where he played until the youth categories.[4](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/desporto/nos-la-fora_a1122509) • [5](https://observador.pt/especiais/qatar-grupo-a-o-portugues-de-mem-martins-uma-academia-global-e-aquilo-que-nem-o-dinheiro-compra/)
His youth path then ran through several Portuguese clubs. He joined Benfica around age ten and stayed until about sixteen, moving through the club's youth teams from the 2001/02 to the 2005/06 seasons.[4](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/desporto/nos-la-fora_a1122509) • [6](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070/historia) He followed with spells at Estrela da Amadora and Estoril Praia, then went south for his junior years at Farense, where he played senior third-division football and rose to the second division.[4](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/desporto/nos-la-fora_a1122509) While waiting for an offer he also represented Aljustrelense, his senior debut club.[4](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/desporto/nos-la-fora_a1122509) • [5](https://observador.pt/especiais/qatar-grupo-a-o-portugues-de-mem-martins-uma-academia-global-e-aquilo-que-nem-o-dinheiro-compra/)
## Move to Qatar and club career
In December 2010 Ró-Ró traveled to Qatar for trials with Al Ahli's B team, competing against roughly 30 other foreign players, and earned a place in the A team.[4](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/desporto/nos-la-fora_a1122509) • [2](https://www.dn.pt/arquivo/diario-de-noticias/as-escolhas-do-anfitriao-15343144.html) He spent five seasons at Al Ahli before transferring to Al-Sadd in 2015.[5](https://observador.pt/especiais/qatar-grupo-a-o-portugues-de-mem-martins-uma-academia-global-e-aquilo-que-nem-o-dinheiro-compra/)
**Al-Sadd.** At Al-Sadd, the most decorated club in Qatar, Ró-Ró has accumulated five league championships, three cups, and four League Cups.[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) By October 2025 he had made 235 appearances for the club, the sixth-most in its history, and had renewed his contract until June 2030, the year he turns 40.[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) His coaches at the club have included Jesualdo Ferreira and Xavi, the former Barcelona midfielder, who in a 2020 interview described him as the best teammate he had played with.[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) • [4](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/desporto/nos-la-fora_a1122509) In the 2025/26 season he made 31 appearances with 2 goals and 5 assists, and he opened the 2026/27 season with 6 matches, 1 goal, and 3 assists.[9](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070/epocas)
## Qatar national team
Ró-Ró naturalized as a Qatari citizen in 2016 and accepted an invitation to represent the Qatar national team that year.[2](https://www.dn.pt/arquivo/diario-de-noticias/as-escolhas-do-anfitriao-15343144.html) • [3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) He was a member of the squad led by Félix Sánchez at the 2022 World Cup, which Qatar hosted, and he was among the 26 players selected for the tournament.[2](https://www.dn.pt/arquivo/diario-de-noticias/as-escolhas-do-anfitriao-15343144.html) • [10](https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/attacking_trio_to_lead_qatars_charge.html) He won the AFC Asian Cup with Qatar in 2019, in a final against Japan, and again in 2024, against Jordan.[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606)
**2026 World Cup qualification.** On 14 October 2025, in a fourth-round World Cup qualifier, Qatar needed a win over the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates) to qualify directly rather than go to a play-off. Qatar won 2-1, and Ró-Ró scored the decisive second goal in the 74th minute, heading in [Akram Afif](https://www.edgepedia.org/akram-afif)'s free kick from the left at the far post.[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) FBref's goal log records the same goal, his second World Cup qualifying goal after one against Iran in June 2025.[7](https://fbref.com/en/players/8735fe66/goallogs/all_comps/Ro-Ro-Goal-Log) The qualification sent Qatar to its second World Cup, both of which have included the Portuguese-born defender.[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606)
## The nickname
Ró-Ró explained the origin of his name in a 2016 interview: as a seven-year-old forward at Mem Martins, he asked his coach to call him Ronaldo, after the Brazilian striker, and the coach answered that he had a better name, "Ró-Ró, Ró for Ronaldo and Ró for Romário."[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606) The nickname has outlived the attacking position it came from; he has played his senior career as a defender.[3](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606)
The name is shared by other footballers: Rodrigo "RoRo" Lopez, the [Sacramento Republic FC](https://www.edgepedia.org/sacramento-republic-fc) captain and the club's first-ever signing, who announced his retirement from playing at the end of the 2025 season.[8](https://www.capradio.org/articles/2025/10/24/the-indomitable-captain-sacramento-republic-legend-roro-lopez-announces-retirement/)
## References
1. [Pedro Ró-Ró :: 2026/2027 - Al-Sadd - Ficha e Estatísticas do Jogador, zerozero.pt](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070?redird=1)
2. [Pedro Correia. Há um português entre os 26 eleitos do Qatar, Diário de Notícias](https://www.dn.pt/arquivo/diario-de-noticias/as-escolhas-do-anfitriao-15343144.html)
3. [Pedro 'Ró-Ró' Correia: de Mem Martins a herói do Qatar, A Bola](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/pedro-ro-ro-correia-de-mem-martins-a-heroi-do-qatar-2025101521091429606)
4. [Nós Lá Fora, RTP](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/desporto/nos-la-fora_a1122509)
5. [Qatar, uma Academia e o que o dinheiro não compra, Observador](https://observador.pt/especiais/qatar-grupo-a-o-portugues-de-mem-martins-uma-academia-global-e-aquilo-que-nem-o-dinheiro-compra/)
6. [Pedro Ró-Ró :: Timeline, zerozero.pt](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070/historia)
7. [Ró-Ró Goal Logs, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/players/8735fe66/goallogs/all_comps/Ro-Ro-Goal-Log)
8. [The Indomitable Captain: Sacramento Republic legend 'RoRo' Lopez announces retirement, CapRadio](https://www.capradio.org/articles/2025/10/24/the-indomitable-captain-sacramento-republic-legend-roro-lopez-announces-retirement/)
9. [Pedro Ró-Ró :: Época a Época, zerozero.pt](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/pedro-ro-ro/124070/epocas)
10. [Attacking trio to lead Qatar's charge](https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/attacking_trio_to_lead_qatars_charge.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania › Middle Eastern and Central Asian footballers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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