Chelsea career

Paulo arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004 when Jose Mourinho paid a then British record £13.2 million fee for a full-back to purchase the defender who had walked the road to Champions League glory with him at Porto. A broken foot in March 2005 removed him from the action but by then he had already won the Carling Cup and played his part on Chelsea's route to a first championship in 50 years and a record-breaking defensive season.

In August 2006, Gallas departed with new competition arriving in the shape of Khalid Boulahrouz. Paulo was just as likely to be found at stand-in centre-back as right-back in the early part of 2006/07 but he came back strongly.

Having signed a new five-year contract in February 2008, Paulo might have been looking forward to working under his former international coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. It wasn't until Guus Hiddink's arrival in February 2009 that Ferreira started a Premier League game, covering for Ashley Cole at left-back after Wayne Bridge's departure had made him the main back-up on that side of the defence. In total there were 3 starts and 9 sub appearances in the 2008/09 season which ended three months early due to a cruciate ligament injury.

To return in a little over six months, as he did when he played 90 minutes against QPR in the Carling Cup in September 2009, showed tremendous commitment to a professional career that had slowed. He began 2010/11 in the team but soon Ivanovic, and later in the season when fit-again, Bosingwa, were preferred choices although Paulo was controversially selected by Ancelotti in central defence rather than young Jeffrey Bruma for what proved to be a heavy home defeat by Sunderland.

The veteran defender's appearances in 2011/12 were both limited and sporadic, with competition for the right-back berth tough, although Paulo remained a dependable member of the squad for both Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo. He was called upon after half an hour at White Hart Lane in December and, much to the Tottenham fans' surprise, kept the hosts at bay with a fine man-marking display that reminded many of his reliable input to our past title-winning campaigns.

He was also involved from the start in our Champions League quarter-final first leg against Benfica in Lisbon, once again putting in a solid performance as the Blues defence kept the Portuguese side at bay, eventually succumbing to cramp after about 80 minutes.

Pre-Chelsea

Paulo began his career at Estoril-Praia close to his birthplace, before moving on to Vitoria Setubal in 2000. Following impressive performances in the Portuguese first division, he secured a move to Porto where his global reputation started to grow. He won the league, cup and finally the Uefa Cup to cap a remarkable first season at the club, before going on to feature in every minute of Porto's Champions League-winning campaign in his second year.

International career

With consistent and solid defending, the young Paulo had become an international within six months of signing for Porto from lower table side Vitória Setubal, his debut in 2002 coming in a friendly against England at Villa Park.

However his nation's big party in the summer of Euro 2004 fell flat for him. He was dropped by the host nation's manager after a mistake in the opening game. However he had been voted the best right-back in Europe the previous season and immediately became first choice for Portugal again on arriving at Chelsea.

Later he had to adapt at international level to become Portugal's first choice at left-back, a position he filled throughout Euro 2008 until the quarter-final defeat by Germany, and with some justification, he could point to a push by club-mate Michael Ballack when attempting to defend the winning goal. Two years later at the World Cup in South Africa he played just one game and retired from international football soon after with 62 caps to his name.