Luis Jesús Rioja González (born 16 October 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Valencia CF.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luis Jesús Rioja González | ||
| Date of birth | 16 October 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Las Cabezas de San Juan, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Valencia | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2012 | Cabecense | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Cabecense | 35 | (4) |
| 2013–2014 | Real Madrid C | 33 | (0) |
| 2014–2017 | Celta B | 65 | (8) |
| 2017–2018 | Marbella | 46 | (5) |
| 2018–2019 | Almería | 39 | (4) |
| 2019–2024 | Alavés | 180 | (21) |
| 2024– | Valencia | 0 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 June 2024 | |||
Career
editRioja was born in Las Cabezas de San Juan, Seville, Andalusia, and was a CD Cabecense youth graduate. He made his senior debut on 2 September 2012, playing the last 22 minutes of a 2–0 Tercera División home win against Cádiz CF B.
Rioja scored his first senior goal on 18 November 2012, in a 4–0 home routing of Arcos CF, and finished the campaign with four goals in 35 appearances. On 27 June of the following year, he signed a three-year deal with Real Madrid and was assigned to the C-team in Segunda División B.[2]
On 27 July 2014 Rioja joined another reserve team, Celta de Vigo B in the third division.[3] On 4 January 2017, he moved to fellow league team Marbella FC.[4]
On 23 July 2018, Rioja agreed to a two-year contract with Segunda División side UD Almería.[5] He made his professional debut on 17 August, starting in a 1–0 away loss against Cádiz CF.[6]
Rioja scored his first professional goal on 26 August 2018, netting the opener in a 1–1 home draw against CD Tenerife.[7] He was regular starter for the club during the campaign, contributing with four goals in 39 appearances.
On 1 July 2019, Rioja signed a four-year deal with La Liga side Deportivo Alavés, as the club activated his release clause.[8] He made his debut in the category on 18 August, starting in a 1–0 home defeat of Levante UD.[9]
On 22 August 2024, Rioja signed a two-year contract with Valencia CF also in the top tier.[10]
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cabecense | 2012–13 | Tercera División | 35 | 4 | — | — | 35 | 4 | ||
| Real Madrid C | 2013–14 | Segunda División B | 33 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||
| Celta B | 2014–15 | Segunda División B | 28 | 4 | — | — | 28 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | 37 | 4 | — | — | 37 | 4 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 65 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 8 | ||
| Marbella | 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 16 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 34 | 5 | ||
| Total | 46 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 5 | ||
| Almería | 2018–19 | Segunda División | 39 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 41 | 5 | |
| Alavés | 2019–20 | La Liga | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | 36 | 5 | |||
| 2021–22 | 37 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | Segunda División | 38 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 45 | 10 | |
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 37 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 5 | |
| 2024–25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 176 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 189 | 22 | ||
| Career total | 394 | 41 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 413 | 44 | ||
Honors
editAlavés
Individual
- Segunda División Player of the Month: February 2023 [13]
References
edit- ^ "Luis Rioja" (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
- ^ "Luis deja el Cabecense y ya es oficialmente merengue" [Luis leaves Cabecense and is officially merengue] (in Spanish). Estadio Deportivo. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ^ "Luis Rioja, velocidad y desborde para el Celta B" [Luis Rioja, speed and skill for Celta B] (in Spanish). Celta Vigo. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ^ "El Marbella FC ficha a Luis Rioja, procedente del Celta de Vigo" [Marbella FC sign Luis Rioja, from Celta de Vigo] (in Spanish). Marbella 24 Hores. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ^ "Luis Rioja, extremo zurdo, décimo fichaje del Almería" [Luis Rioja, left winger, tenth signing of Almería] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ "Álex Fernández da la primera victoria de la temporada al Cádiz" [Alex Fernández gives the first victory of the season to Cádiz] (in Spanish). Marca. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ^ "Malbasic rescata un punto para el Tenerife" [Malbasic rescues a point for Tenerife] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Luis Rioja llega al Deportivo Alavés" [Luis Rioja arrives at Deportivo Alavés] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Joselu y Pacheco dan la primera victoria al Alavés" [Joselu and Pacheco give the first win to Alavés] (in Spanish). Marca. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ "Official Statement | Luis Rioja". Valencia CF. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ Luis Rioja at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ Luis Rioja at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
- ^ "Luis Rioja named LaLiga SmartBank Player of the Month for February". La Liga. 2 March 2023.
External links
edit- Luis Rioja at BDFutbol
- Luis Rioja at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
- Luis Rioja at Soccerway