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Joseph William Ralls (born 12 October 1993) is an English professional footballer who most recently played as a midfielder for and captained club Cardiff City. It was announced he was leaving the club on June 30, 2025 at the end of his current agreement.
After playing at youth level for local teams Aldershot Town and Farnborough, Ralls joined the youth academy at Cardiff City after being spotted by scouts from the club. He made his professional debut for the Bluebirds in August 2011 before joining Yeovil Town on a season-long loan deal for the 2013–14 season to gain experience.
After Cardiff were left with a depleted squad due to international call-ups prior to a EFL Cup tie against Oxford United on 10 August 2011, manager Malky Mackay approached Ardley to enquire which players in the academy set-up would be ready to step into the first-team for the match. Ardley recommended Ralls, Deji Oshilaja and Mamadou Diallo to Mackay and Ralls and Oshilaja were eventually named on the substitutes bench for the match. Mackay later revealed that he knew very little about Ralls prior to his inclusion in the match. Ralls was brought on after 67 minutes in place of Andrew Taylor to make his professional debut at the age of 17 as Cardiff went on to win 3–1 in extra-time. He was handed his first start in the second round of the competition against Huddersfield Town 13 days later, playing 81 minutes before being replaced by Peter Whittingham.
His progression into the first-team saw him handed his first professional contract by the club on 30 September 2011, later commenting "It's a fantastic feeling to have signed professionally with a club like Cardiff City". Ralls made his league debut just 48 hours after signing the contract, being brought on after just 10 minutes of a match against Hull City following an injury to forward Kenny Miller, scoring a stunning volley for his first senior goal as Cardiff went on to lose 2–1. His first league start came on 10 December in a goalless draw at Millwall, going on to finish his first season in the first-team squad having made 14 appearances in all competitions.
Ralls expressed his satisfaction with joining the Glovers, stating "Yeovil has worked out really well and I know I'll improve my game here before I return to Cardiff." He briefly returned to Cardiff following the expiration of his loan deal following the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjær as Cardiff manager in order for the Norwegian to assess his squad, missing Yeovil's FA Cup victory over Leyton Orient. However, with Yeovil keen on extending the loan deal, on 11 January 2014, Ralls agreed an extension to his loan with Yeovil until the end of the season.
At the start of the following season, he was handed the number 8 shirt and started in the left-sided midfield role against Fulham on the opening day. Ralls scored his only goal of the campaign in January against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 3–1 win. Ralls effort throughout the season had earned him the Young Player of the year award, whilst Cardiff just missed out on a play-off place to Sheffield Wednesday.
Ralls celebrated his 100th appearance for Cardiff, by scoring a spectacular goal from 25 yards out against Fulham in August, also opening his accounts for the 2016–17 season. He was nominated for Player of the Month in January, following impressive performances scoring two against Aston Villa and Reading and seeing Cardiff rise from the relegation battle to mid-table spot.
In June 2022, Ralls signed a new two-year contract with the club.
On 21 June 2025, the club announced he would be leaving at the end of the month when his contract expired.
| Cardiff City | EFL Championship | 1 | |
| Championship | 0 | ||
| Premier League | 0 | ||
| Championship | 4 | ||
| Championship | 1 | ||
| Championship | 6 | ||
| 2017–18 | Championship | 7 | |
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Championship | 7 | |
| 2020–21 | Championship | 5 | |
| 2021–22 | Championship | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | Championship | 1 | |
| 2023–24 | Championship | 1 | |
| 2024–25 | Championship | 0 | |
| Yeovil Town (loan) | Championship | 3 | |
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