Paços Ferreira Cadú was born in
Paços de Ferreira,
Porto District. joining
Paços de Ferreira's youth system aged 8 initially as a
forward. He began his senior career in the
fourth division with
Aliados Lordelo, adding two more until the end of
the campaign in a 3–1 loss at
Beira-Mar and a 1–0 home defeat of
Porto. In the
following season, Cadú's team finished in 17th place and was relegated.
Boavista In summer 2004, Cadú signed for Boavista. In his
debut campaign, he scored twice from 30 appearances for the sixth-placed side. as they eventually achieved the same placement.
CFR Cluj In 2006, Cadú joined Romania's
CFR Cluj, together with compatriots
António Semedo,
Manuel José and
Pedro Oliveira. CFR paid Boavista a
€750,000 fee for his transfer. He made his
Liga I debut on 30 July 2006 when player-coach
Dorinel Munteanu sent him in the 79th minute to replace
Zoran Milošević in a 4–0 home victory over
Unirea Urziceni. On 20 September, he scored his first goal in the league in a 5–1 home win against
FC Universitatea Craiova. In the
2007–08 season, CFR won
The Double, which constituted the club's first trophies, and Cadú contributed with four goals in 29 league matches under coach
Ioan Andone. One of these goals was scored in the last round of the season from a penalty in a 1–0
Cluj derby win over
Universitatea Cluj that mathematically secured the title. Additionally, he made his debut in a European club competition, playing in both legs of the 3–1 loss on aggregate to
Anorthosis in the
UEFA Cup second qualifying round. Cadú then played six games in the
2008–09 Champions League group stage with
The Railway Men, including a historical 2–1 victory at
Stadio Olimpico against
AS Roma. In the same season he won another
Cupa României, coach
Toni Conceição using him the entire match in the 3–0 win over
Politehnica Timișoara in the
final. Cadú started the
2009–10 season by winning the
Supercupa României, as coach Conceição used him the whole match in the penalty shoot-out win against Unirea Urziceni, and he netted the final spot kick. Subsequently, he helped his side eliminate
FK Sarajevo in the
2009–10 Europa League play-off, reaching the group stage where he played in five games. Cadú finished the season by winning another Double with CFR, being used by coaches Conceição and
Andrea Mandorlini in 28 games in which he netted five goals. For these performances he was voted
Central Defender of the Year alongside Unirea Urziceni's
George Galamaz. He won the
2010 Supercupa României, following another penalty shoot-out victory against Unirea Urziceni in which coach Mandorlini played him for the entire match. Afterwards, he played five matches in the
2010–11 Champions League group stage, scoring a goal and an
own goal in a 3–2 away loss to
Bayern Munich. Cadú's last trophy won with
The White and Burgundies was the
2011–12 championship, as coaches
Jorge Costa and Andone used him in 27 matches in which he netted five goals. The title was mathematically clinched after Cadú scored the victory goal in the 88th minute of the 3–2 win over Universitatea Cluj. Next season he played 10 games in the team's
2012–13 Champions League campaign as they got past
Slovan Liberec, against whom he scored a goal, and
Basel in the qualifying rounds. In the group stage, the club finished third, earning 10 points against opponents such as
Manchester United,
Galatasaray and
Braga. Subsequently, they qualified for the round of 32 in the
Europa League, where they were defeated by
Inter Milan. On 6 May 2014, he made his 200th Liga I appearance in a 3–0 away win over
Dinamo București, becoming the foreign player with the most matches played after the
1989 Romanian Revolution. Cadú made his last appearance in the competition on 15 May 2014 in CFR's 3–1 home win over
Gaz Metan Mediaș, totaling 202 matches with 27 goals in the competition.
AEL and Gil Vicente On 2 July 2014, Cadú agreed to a one-year contract at
AEL Limassol, making his
Cypriot First Division debut on 24 August in a 2–0 away victory against
Nea Salamina and scoring in the following two rounds against
Ethnikos Achna (2–2) and
Doxa Katokopias (4–0). He appeared in the two-legged 3–1 loss to
Zenit Saint Petersburg in the
Champions League third qualifying round, subsequently taking part in both games of the
Europa League play-off as his side was defeated 5–1 on aggregate by
Tottenham Hotspur; those were his last appearances in European competitions, where he accumulated 35 matches with two goals. He scored his first goal on 25 April in a 2–1 away victory against
Académica de Coimbra, remaining with the club in spite of its
top-flight relegation. Cadú took part in 121 games in the Portuguese main division in five seasons, scoring seven times.
Later career On 26 July 2016, the 34-year-old Cadú joined
Leixões of the
LigaPro. Before retiring in 2021, he represented lower-league sides
Merelinense and
Maia Lidador. ==International career==