New England Revolution Striker Ricardo Pereira Draws European Interest as Club Fights for Playoff Spot
The 24-year-old forward's blistering first half of the MLS season has put Gillette Stadium on the radar of scouts from three Bundesliga clubs.
The 24-year-old forward's blistering first half of the MLS season has put Gillette Stadium on the radar of scouts from three Bundesliga clubs.

Ricardo Pereira is having the kind of summer that changes careers. The New England Revolution's Brazilian-born striker has scored 14 goals in 18 MLS appearances this season, pushing the Revs into fourth place in the Eastern Conference and drawing confirmed scouting visits from Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Borussia Mönchengladbach, according to club sources familiar with the situation. On the Fourth of July, while much of the country sweltered through heat that wiped out fireworks shows from Washington to Philadelphia, Pereira was putting in work at the Revs' training facility in Foxborough.
The timing matters. MLS's secondary transfer window opens August 1, and European clubs operating on a summer window that closes August 31 are moving fast. A player of Pereira's output — his 14 goals rank third in MLS behind only FC Cincinnati's forward corps — would command a transfer fee in the range of $8 million to $12 million by current market estimates, a record sale for the Revolution organization. The club record currently stands at $9.5 million, set when midfielder Carles Gil moved to a Spanish second-division club in 2023.
For Boston, this is more than a contract negotiation. The Revolution have spent the better part of three years rebuilding supporter trust after a disappointing 2023 campaign that saw them miss the playoffs entirely and led to a front-office restructuring. Pereira, signed out of Flamengo's academy system for a modest $1.1 million fee in January 2025, has become the face of that rebuild. His home performances at Gillette Stadium — technically in Foxborough, 28 miles southwest of Boston — draw regular pilgrimages from the city's Brazilian diaspora community, which is concentrated heavily in Somerville's East Broadway corridor and in the Allston neighborhood along Cambridge Street.
The East Somerville community in particular has rallied around Pereira in a way the club hasn't seen since the Revs' 2021 record-breaking regular season. The Somerville Youth Soccer League, which runs programming out of Trum Field on Broadway, reported a 22 percent spike in registration inquiries after Pereira's hat trick against Atlanta United on June 14. The Brazilian Cultural Center of New England, based on Cambridge Street in Allston, hosted a watch party for that match that drew roughly 300 people.
Revolution sporting director Dave Payne — who took the role in March 2025 — has publicly stated the club intends to keep Pereira through at least the end of the MLS Cup playoffs. Whether a buyout clause exists in the player's contract has not been confirmed. The club declined to provide contract specifics when contacted Friday.
What the numbers do confirm: the Revs are a genuine contender. Fourteen points behind first-place Inter Miami CF with 16 games remaining, New England sits within striking distance of a top-three Eastern Conference seed, which would guarantee home playoff dates. Gillette Stadium holds 65,878 for soccer configurations, and the club has sold out three consecutive home matches — a streak not seen since October 2021.
The club's next home fixture is July 12 against CF Montréal, and season tickets for the remainder of the regular season are still available starting at $149 through the Revolution's official site. For fans hoping to see Pereira in a Revs shirt before any potential transfer, that match and the July 26 home date against the Philadelphia Union represent the most likely showcases.
European scouts will almost certainly be in the Gillette stands for both. The Revolution's front office knows it. So does Pereira's agent, São Paulo-based representative Marcos Leitão, whose client list includes three current Serie A players. The next four weeks will determine whether Pereira's story continues in Foxborough or gets filed away as one of the better short chapters in Revolution history.
How does this story make you feel?
Spread the word
About this article
Published by The Daily Boston
Daily brief
Free, in your inbox before 7am. Weekdays.
More in Sport