Ricardo Rivera

For the Argentine tennis player, see Ricardo Rivera (tennis).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rivera and the second or maternal family name is de León.

Ricardo Emmanuel Rivera de León (born 17 April 1997) is a Puerto Rican professional footballer who plays as a forward for USL Championship club Miami FC and the Puerto Rico national team.

Ricardo Rivera

Personal information
Full name	Ricardo Emmanuel Rivera de León
Date of birth	(1997-04-17) 17 April 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Miami FC
Number	17
Youth career
2004–2015	Atlético de San Juan
2015–2016	Racing Algemesí CF
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	UPR Mayagüez
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2021	Vilamarxant CF	72	(13)
2021–2022	Union Omaha	20	(1)
2022–2023	Buñol	0	(0)
2024	O&M FC	29	(5)
2025–	Miami FC	0	(0)
International career‡
2012	Puerto Rico U17	3	(0)
2016	Puerto Rico U20	3	(0)
2019	Puerto Rico U23	3	(2)
2016–	Puerto Rico	32	(18)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 January 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 November 2023

Early life

Rivera played most of his youth career at Club Atlético de San Juan, before moving to Valencia in 2015, where he played one year at Racing Algemesí. From 2016 to 2018, he played college soccer at UPR Mayagüez, where he won the championship twice, and earned awards including MVP and top goalscorer.^[1]

Club career

Villamarxant

In 2018, Rivera tried out and signed with Villamarxant CF of the Tercera División.^[2]

Miami FC

Rivera signed with USL Championship club Miami FC in January 2025.^[3]

International career

Rivera was called up to the Puerto Rico national under-17 team under manager Jeaustin Campos in 2012, for the FIFA U17 World Cup Qualifiers. In 2016 he played for the Puerto Rico national under-20 team.^[4] In the same year, he was called up, and made his debut for the senior national team, for friendly matches against the Dominican Republic.^[5] In July 2019, he was called up to the Puerto Rico national under-23 team, for the 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He scored the winning goal in the 93' minute in his debut against Antigua and Barbuda.^[6]

Rivera concluded the 2022 World Cup qualifiers as the team’s leader in goals, with four.^[7] Puerto Rico finished this stage second in their group, but only Saint Kitts and Nevis advanced.^[7]

Career statistics

International goals

As of match played 21 November 2023.

List of international goals scored by Ricardo Rivera

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 March 2021	Estadio Centroamericano, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico	Trinidad and Tobago	1–1	1–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	2 June 2021	Estadio Centroamericano, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico	Bahamas	2–0	7–0
3				4–0
4	8 June 2021	Georgetown Football Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana	Guyana	1–0	2–0
5	12 June 2022	Estadio Centroamericano, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico	British Virgin Islands	2–0	6–0	2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League C
6				4–0
7				5–0
8				6–0
9	26 March 2023	Mayagüez Athletics Stadium, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico	Cayman Islands	1–0	5–1
10				3–0
11	9 September 2023	Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas	Bahamas	2–1	6–1	2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League B
12	12 September 2023	Mayagüez Athletics Stadium, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico	Antigua and Barbuda	2–0	5–0
13				3–0
14	21 November 2023	Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Bahamas	1–0	6–0
15				2–0
16				3–0