Rónald Matarrita

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Matarrita and the second or maternal family name is Ulate.

Rónald Alberto Matarrita Ulate (born 9 July 1994) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Liga FPD club Alajuelense and the Costa Rica national team.

Rónald Matarrita

Matarrita with Costa Rica at the Copa América Centenario in 2016.
Personal information
Full name	Rónald Alberto Matarrita Ulate[1]
Date of birth	(1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 31)[1]
Place of birth	Alajuela, Costa Rica
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Left-back, wing-back
Team information
Current team	Alajuelense
Number	13
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2016	Alajuelense	67	(4)
2016–2020	New York City	106	(4)
2021–2022	FC Cincinnati	31	(3)
2023	Dnipro-1	9	(0)
2023–2024	Aris	1	(0)
2024–	Alajuelense	21	(0)
International career‡
2010–2011	Costa Rica U17	3	(0)
2012	Costa Rica U20	2	(0)
2015	Costa Rica U22	3	(1)
2015–	Costa Rica	55	(3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:33, 9 September 2024 (UTC)

Club career

New York City FC

Matarrita was signed to New York City FC from Alajuelense on 20 January 2016 for an undisclosed fee.^[2] Matarrita made his MLS debut against the Chicago Fire on 6 March 2016.^[3] He scored his first goal for New York City during a 2–0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC on 25 June 2016.^[4] After a strong first season, he was named New York City's Defensive Player of the Year for 2016.^[5]

FC Cincinnati

On 29 December 2020, Matarrita was traded to FC Cincinnati in exchange for $500,000 of General Allocation Money.^[6] He was released by Cincinnati following their 2022 season.^[7]

Aris

On 20 June 2023, Matarrita joined Super League Greece club Aris on a three-year contract.^[8]

International career

Matarrita has represented Costa Rica at under-17, under-20, under-22, and senior levels. He made his senior debut on 5 September 2015 in a friendly against Brazil.^[9] He scored his first goal for Costa Rica 6 September 2016, in a 3–1 win over Panama, in a World Cup qualification match.^[10] Matarrita was called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but was ruled out of the tournament three days before Costa Rica's debut due to a harmstring injury.^[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 September 2024^[12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Alajuelense	2013–14	Primera División	11	0	—		1[b]	0	—		12	0
	2014–15	Primera División	36	3	—		4[b]	0	—		40	3
	2015–16	Primera División	20	1	—		—		—		20	1
	Total		67	4	—		5	0	—		72	4
New York City	2016	Major League Soccer	25	1	—		—		2[c]	0	27	1
	2017	Major League Soccer	12	0	—		—		2[c]	0	14	0
	2018	Major League Soccer	24	2	—		—		2[c]	0	26	2
	2019	Major League Soccer	24	1	1	0	—		1[c]	0	26	1
	2020	Major League Soccer	21	0	—		4[b]	0	3[d]	0	28	0
	Total		106	4	1	0	4	0	10	0	121	4
FC Cincinnati	2021	Major League Soccer	22	2	—		—		—		22	2
	2022	Major League Soccer	9	1	—		—		—		9	1
	Total		31	3	—		—		—		31	3
Dnipro-1	2022–23	Ukrainian Premier League	9	0	—		—		—		9	0
Aris	2023–24	Super League Greece	1	0	0	0	4[e]	0	—		5	0
Alajuelense	2024–25	Liga FPD	2	0	0	0	1[f]	0	—		3	0
Career total			216	11	1	0	14	0	10	0	241	11

1. Includes U.S. Open Cup
2. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
3. Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs
4. Two appearances in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage, one appearance in MLS Cup Playoffs
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
6. Appearance in CONCACAF Central American Cup

International

As of 9 September 2024^[13]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Costa Rica	2015	6	0
	2016	11	2
	2017	4	0
	2018	6	1
	2019	9	0
	2020	1	0
	2021	11	0
	2022	5	0
	2023	2	0
	2024	1	0
Total		55	3

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Matarrita goal.

List of international goals scored by Rónald Matarrita^[12][13]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 2016	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Panama	3–0	3–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	11 November 2016	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago	2–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	16 November 2018	Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua, Chile	Chile	3–0	3–2	Friendly

Personal

Matarrita earned his U.S. green card in March 2017.^[14] This status also qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Honours

Alajuelense

• Costa Rican Primera División: 2013–14 Invierno

Individual

• CONCACAF Best XI: 2016^[15]
• MLS Team of the Week 2016: Week 6,^[16] Week 10,^[17] Week 16,^[18]