Rio Cardines

Rio Solomon Cardines (born 1 July 2006) is a professional footballer who plays as a full-back or wing-back for club Bristol City on loan from club Crystal Palace. Born in England, he plays for the Trinidad and Tobago national team.

Club career Cardines is a quick athletic defender who was a youth product of the successful London Colney Colts under-12 and under-15 teams based in St Albans. He went on to join Enfield Borough F.C. and Stevenage Borough Juniors. Cardines joined the youth academy of Crystal Palace at under-16 level in 2022. He was part of the team who won a pre-season tournament against Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Dundee United in August 2022.

Though he has played predominantly as a right-back, Cardines can slot in anywhere across the defence if required and has also played as a wing-back. Cardines made his first start for the Under-18s side against Norwich City in November 2022 and managed to get on the scoresheet in a 2–2 draw. His performances for the young Eagles saw him earn a call-up in January 2023, to Trinidad and Tobago's Under-17s team for their participation in the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship. He helped the Crystal Palace U21s win the 2023–24 Premier League International Cup. On 3 July 2024, he signed his first professional contract with the club. Cardines played for the Palace U21s in a 1–0 EFL Trophy loss to Stevenage on 20 August 2024.

Cardines first competitive involvement with the first-team was as an unused substitute in the 2025 FA Community Shield in August 2025, with his first appearance occurring two months later when he came on as a late substitute in an away match against Dynamo Kyiv in the UEFA Conference League. He made his league debut on the final day of the 2025–26 season against Arsenal.

2026–27: Bristol City (loan) On 11 August 2026, Cardines joined EFL Championship club Bristol City on a season-long loan.

International career He can represent England, his country of birth, as well as the Trinidad and Tobago or Venezuela through his parents. A dual-citizen, he gained Trinidadian citizenship on February 10th 2023. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago U17s that played at the 2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship. In 2024, he was called up to the Trinidad and Tobago U20s for a set of 2024 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying matches. He was formally called up to the senior Trinidad and Tobago national team for the 2025 Unity Cup. He debuted in that tournament in a 3–2 loss to Jamaica on 27 May 2025.

Career statistics

Club

International + Appearances and goals by national team and year UEFA Conference League: 2025–26

Crystal Palace U21 Premier League International Cup: 2023–24