Rio Ave was founded in 1939, soon being nicknamed
Rio Grande (Big River). The side had two of its best moments in the 1980s, under the management of
Félix Mourinho, father of
José Mourinho: in
1981–82, the club finished in a joint-best fifth place, and two years later it reached the
Taça de Portugal final, losing to
Porto 4–1. In 2013–14, the club reached both cup finals under the management of
Nuno Espírito Santo, but lost to
treble-winners
Benfica in both. This qualified them to their first European campaign, the
2014–15 UEFA Europa League. New manager
Pedro Martins led them past Swedish duo
IFK Göteborg and
IF Elfsborg to reach the group stage, where they came last. Under
Miguel Cardoso, Rio Ave came fifth in
2017–18, equalling their best finish. Two years later, with
Carlos Carvalhal in charge and Iranian
Mehdi Taremi the league's joint top scorer, the club equalled this position with a new points record of 55. In October 2020, the team reached the
Europa League playoffs but lost at home to
A.C. Milan, having conceded a penalty equaliser in the last minute of extra time and then losing 9–8 on penalties. The season, under the returning Cardoso, ended with relegation after a 5–0 aggregate defeat to
F.C. Arouca in the playoffs. After relegation, Rio Ave signed 35-year-old manager
Luís Freire, who won promotion as champions in
2021–22 and was rewarded with a new contract. In 2023, Rio Ave's affiliated paying members (
sócios) approved the creation of a
SAD and the entry of an investor, the Greek
Evangelos Marinakis, who had already invested in
Olympiacos and
Nottingham Forest. ==European record==