Albert Riera

Bordeaux In the summer of 2003, Riera moved to Bordeaux. He made 66 competitive appearances for the Ligue 1 side over a two-year spell, netting nine times; this included five in a run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in his first season before elimination by eventual winners Valencia.

Espanyol Riera returned to Spain in 2005, when he signed for Espanyol. He played just eight league matches in his first season, prompting a January 2006 loan move to Manchester City where he was also unable to establish himself, scoring his only goal against Newcastle United in a 3–0 home win on 1 February.

Riera returned to Catalonia prior to 2006–07. Espanyol went on to reach the UEFA Cup final at Hampden Park in Glasgow, where they played fellow Spaniards Sevilla; he scored to level the game at 1–1, but his team eventually lost 3–1 on penalties. At the end of the campaign, he extended his contract until 2011.

Liverpool

On 1 September 2008 (transfer deadline day), Riera signed a four-year deal with Liverpool for a fee of £8 million, being given the number 11 shirt. and scored his first goal for the Reds as they beat Wigan Athletic 3–2 on 18 October, adding another in the 3–1 victory at PSV Eindhoven in the group stage of the Champions League.

Riera netted Liverpool's first goal of 2009, and also scored in the third round in the FA Cup on 3 January, against Preston North End. Later that season, he scored against Aston Villa in a 5–0 home rout on 22 March 2009, through a half-volley after Pepe Reina's long goal kick.

On 18 March 2010, Riera was suspended after comments made to the Spanish press regarding his first team opportunities and the approach of manager Rafael Benítez. The player was quoted as saying: "He's never sorted out a situation with a player by talking with him." He was transfer listed following the comments, with Russian clubs CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow thought to be interested in a permanent move. On the 23rd of that month it was announced that Liverpool had accepted a £6 million bid from CSKA for the player; however, it appeared to be solely rumours, any interest was officially denied – additionally, the player's agent, Ángel Castells, confirmed that only Spartak had made a proposal.

Olympiacos On 23 July 2010, Riera joined Olympiacos on a four-year contract. The deal was reported to be worth around €6 million (€4 million plus another potential €2 million in bonuses), with a salary of around €2.5 million per season; he became one of the most expensive transfers in the country's history, as he reunited with former Espanyol manager Ernesto Valverde.

Riera scored his first goal against Kerkyra in a 2–0 home win, and appeared in 28 competitive matches during the season as the Piraeus team won the Super League Greece.

Galatasaray

On 3 September 2011, Riera completed a €3 million move to Turkish side Galatasaray, signing a four-year deal. He scored his first goal in the Süper Lig on 25 January 2012 in a 4–0 home defeat of Ankaragücü, and was an habitual first-choice in his first season as the Istanbul-based team won the national championship; he was also involved, however, in a punching session with teammate Felipe Melo just before the playoffs started.

Following the arrival of prospect Nordin Amrabat for the 2012–13 campaign, Riera was reconverted by manager Fatih Terim into an attacking left-back, mainly due to the lack of options in the position other than injury-prone Hakan Balta. On 28 January 2014, he agreed to have his contract terminated for €750,000 and left the Ali Sami Yen Stadium.

Watford On 24 March 2014, Riera signed a pre-contract with Italian side Udinese, effective as of 1 July. Three days later, he joined Football League Championship's Watford until the end of the season.

Riera scored his first and only goal for Watford on 19 April 2014, in the 3–1 home win over Ipswich Town. He had an extended run until late in the month, when he was sent off for two bookable offences in a 3–1 loss at Charlton Athletic after a high challenge on Diego Poyet. After the match, he was charged by The Football Association for improper conduct, having confronted the officials and having to be dragged away by his team-mates; he was given a two-match ban although only one remained to end the campaign, and he subsequently returned to Udinese.

Later career On 29 November 2014, Riera was sacked by Udinese for attending a poker tournament rather than reporting to play against Chievo, also taking to Twitter to insult the organisation. He returned to his first club Mallorca the following 5 March, after agreeing to a one-and-a-half-year deal. In May, he was subjected to disciplinary proceedings after claiming he would not appear again for the team as long as Miquel Soler was the manager.

On 11 September 2015, Slovenian sports newspaper Ekipa reported that Riera would sign a contract with Zavrč. Three days later, he was officially presented.

Riera terminated his contract on 22 January 2016, but remained in the country as he joined Koper until June 2018 shortly after. He joined the team also as an assistant sporting director, and made one brief appearance against Primorje in the first game of the second half of the season; he was then suspended from training and his contract was cancelled unilaterally in July 2016.

International career Riera made his debut for the Spain national team on 13 October 2007 in an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Denmark, and scored from outside the box in a 3–1 away win. However, he failed to make the final cut for the final stages, where the nation won the tournament.

Riera was again called to the squad in October 2008 for two 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers after Sevilla's Diego Capel withdrew with an injury, and played 12 minutes in a 3–0 victory in Estonia. In the following year, on 1 April, he netted a last-minute winner in Turkey (2–1).

Manager Vicente del Bosque named Riera in the squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and he made four appearances for the third-placed team.

Coaching career Galatasaray (assistant) Riera officially announced his retirement from football on 24 January 2018, through a social media post portraying himself having literally hung up his boots on a tree. He obtained a UEFA Pro Licence in 2019, and in August of the following year he returned to Galatasaray to be an assistant coach to Fatih Terim. In January 2022, he went back to the Nef Stadium to work alongside compatriot Domènec Torrent.

Olimpija Ljubljana On 4 July 2022, Riera returned to the Slovenian top tier when he was appointed manager of Olimpija Ljubljana. He was forced out of his first press conference by Olimpija ultras, Green Dragons, unhappy with the dismissal of predecessor Robert Prosinečki. He made his debut three days later at home to Differdange 03 in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League, drawing 1–1, and requiring extra time in the second leg to advance through the tie. His team began the league season on 14 July with a 2–0 home win over Mura, followed by a further seven victories for the club's best start since 1994.

Riera eventually led Olimpija to the national championship, clinching their first title since 2018 after defeating archrivals Maribor 2–0 with five rounds to go. He completed the double after defeating Maribor in the Slovenian Cup with a 130th-minute penalty kick by Timi Max Elšnik. For his achievements, he was named Manager of the Year; however, at the ceremony, he announced that he had not been offered a new deal and would leave after his contract expired at the end of May.

Celje On 20 July 2023, two days before the start of the new season, Riera was officially unveiled as manager of Celje also in the Slovenian top tier. On his debut three days later, his team drew 2–2 at Aluminij. He left the club, with the team at the top of the table after 11 rounds, on 11 October. He managed the team for 17 matches, notably knocking out Portugal's Vitória de Guimarães in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Bordeaux A day after leaving Celje, Riera became the new manager of Bordeaux – now in Ligue 2 – returning to the club 18 years after his playing tenure and signing a contract until June 2025. His debut on 21 October was a 2–0 loss at Angers.

Riera led his team to a 12th-place finish. However, Bordeaux were administratively relegated to the Championnat National and declared bankruptcy before the start of the new season.

Return to Celje Riera returned to Celje on 29 July 2024, on a two-year deal. Just one day later, he oversaw a 5–0 away defeat against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League second qualifying round, being eliminated 6–1 on aggregate; this was the club's heaviest defeat in European competitions, and also the manager's joint-heaviest in that role. However, the team managed to reach the Conference League league phase, their first ever appearance in the main stage of any European competition. They eventually progressed to the quarter-finals, a feat achieved for the first time by any Slovenian side.

Riera won another domestic cup at the end of the 2024–25 campaign, beating his former employers Koper 4–0 in the final. The triumph granted Celje a spot in the Europa League qualifying rounds, eventually reaching the league phase of the Conference League for the second year in a row. The team finished the first half of the next domestic league in first place, twelve points ahead of second-placed Maribor; similarly to the previous season, they also qualified for the Conference League play-offs.

Eintracht Frankfurt On 30 January 2026, Riera was appointed as head coach of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on a two-and-a-half-year contract, starting on 2 February. On his debut, he oversaw a 1–1 draw away to Union Berlin.

Eintracht and Riera parted ways following a 2–2 draw against VfB Stuttgart on the final day of the season.

Red Star Belgrade On 14 August 2026, Riera became the new manager of Serbian SuperLiga club Red Star Belgrade on a two-year deal. His first competitive fixture was the Europa League play-off round; following a 3–0 home victory over Viktoria Plzeň, in the second leg his team played with one player less for 70 minutes – the tie went to extra time – and eventually lost 5–1 in the Czech Republic.

Personal life Riera's younger brother, Sito, is also a footballer. He too represented Espanyol, but only their reserves.

In 2009, Riera married Russian Julia Koroleva, with whom he has three children. He moved to Omsk in Siberia, where he set up a football academy.

Riera and Koroleva divorced in 2023.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Riera goal.

Honours Player Mallorca Copa del Rey: 2002–03 2012–13

Spain FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 2009