 Rico withSevilla in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sergio Rico González[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-09-01)1 September 1993 (age 32)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Seville, Spain[2] | ||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Gharafa | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2011 | Sevilla | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | Sevilla B | 36 | (0) |
| 2014–2020 | Sevilla | 114 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | →Fulham (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | →Paris Saint-Germain (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2020–2024 | Paris Saint-Germain | 11 | (0) |
| 2022 | →Mallorca (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2024– | Al-Gharafa | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2016 | Spain | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:25, 16 May 2022 (UTC) | |||
Sergio Rico González (born 1 September 1993) is a Spanish professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forQatar Stars League clubAl-Gharafa.
He began his career atSevilla, where he twice won theEuropa League while appearing in 170 competitive matches. He signed withParis Saint-Germain in 2019, initially on loan and permanently in 2020.
Rico made his senior international debut forSpain in 2016, and was chosen forthe year's European Championship.
Rico was born inSeville,Andalusia. He played youth football withSevilla, spending several of his first seasons as a senior withthe reserves, inSegunda División B. On 1 July 2013, he signed a new two-year deal with the club.[4]
On 14 September 2014, profiting from the injuries of bothBeto andMariano Barbosa,[5] Rico made his first-team – andLa Liga – debut, starting in a 2–0 home win againstGetafe.[6] He first appeared in theUEFA Europa League four days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a home victory overFeyenoord forthe same scoreline.[7]
In December 2014, Rico was definitely promoted to the main squad, overtaking Barbosa in the pecking order.[8] He extended his contract with theRojiblancos on the 16th, signing until 2017 and being awarded a place with the first team.[9] He finishedthe campaign with 37 appearances in all competitions, including 11 in the Europa League[10][11] which concluded with a 3–2 defeat ofDnipro inthe final.[12]
In2015–16, Rico played in Sevilla'sUEFA Champions Leaguegroup stage elimination but was replaced by fellow youth graduateDavid Soria as the teamwent on to win a third consecutive Europa League title.[13] He was still first choice during2017–18, but was also involved in altercations with managerVincenzo Montella and a group of supporters.[14]
On 9 August 2018, Rico was loaned toFulham forone season.[15] He made hisPremier League debut on 27 October, in a 0–3 home loss againstBournemouth.[16] He edged out homegrown playerMarcus Bettinelli as the starter for theWest London side, who were relegated to theChampionship at the end of the campaign.[17]
On 1 September 2019, Rico joinedParis Saint-Germain on aseason-long loan deal which included an optional buyout clause.[18] His maiden appearance inLigue 1 took place two months later in the 2–1 victory atBrest, whenKeylor Navas withdrew injured before kick-off.[19]
On 29 June 2020, after the campaign had been halted due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Rico signed a two-month contract extension at theParc des Princes.[20] On 12 August, he came on as asubstitute for the injured Navas late into an eventual 2–1 win overAtalanta in thequarter-finals of the Champions League,[21] and kept his place the next round againstRB Leipzig (3–0 victory).[22]
Rico signed a permanent four-year contract on 5 September 2020, the transfer fee being of €6 million.[23] Following the arrival ofGianluigi Donnarumma in July 2021, he was demoted to the role of third-choice.[24]
On 21 January 2022, Rico returned to Spain to joinMallorca on loan until the end ofthe season.[25] He made his debut on 2 February, in a 1–0 loss atRayo Vallecano in thequarter-finals of theCopa del Rey.[26] He quickly became the starter, overtaking veteranManolo Reina;[27] however, after conceding six goals against relegation rivalsGranada on 7 May, he returned to the bench.[28]
Rico played no minutes in any competition for PSG in2022–23[29] and2023–24.[30] On 29 June 2024, it was reported that he would be leaving at the end of the month.[31]
On 29 September 2024, Rico moved toQatar Stars League clubAl-Gharafa.[32] He made his first appearance in 492 days againstAl Ain in theleague stage of theAFC Champions League Elite, a 4–2 home win.[33]
On 26 May 2015, Rico and Sevilla teammateAleix Vidal were the two players called up to theSpanish national team for the first time, ahead of afriendly withCosta Rica and aUEFA Euro 2016qualifying match againstBelarus,[34] but he did not play in either fixture. He was the third-choice goalkeeper for the final tournament behindIker Casillas andDavid de Gea,[35] and made his debut on 1 June, replacing the former for the final 14 minutes of a 6–1 friendly win overSouth Korea inSalzburg.[36]
In December 2016, Rico was given the Sport award at the Young Andalusia Prizes, receiving his honour from regional presidentSusana Díaz, a fan ofcity rivalsReal Betis.[37]
During a match between PSG andMontpellier on 22 January 2021, Rico's home inNeuilly-sur-Seine was burgled.[38] His father died in March, and his teammate Navas dedicated apenalty save againstBarcelona in theChampions League round of 16 to him.[39]
Rico suffered a head injury in a horse-riding accident in theProvince of Huelva on 28 May 2023.[40] He was hospitalised at theHospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío in Seville, with his condition being described as "serious".[41] Due to his injury, he fell into a coma for three weeks, and it was reported that per his medical report he had been "half a centimetre" from death.[42] He received numerous messages of support, notably from Paris Saint-Germain fans, players, directors and his former club Sevilla's players, who wore a shirt in his support prior to theEuropa League final.[43] During PSG's final league match ofthe season on 3 June, fans unveiled atifo in his honour, while players sported the player's name on the back of their shirts in the first half; at the 16th minute, in reference to Rico's number 16 jersey, he was applauded by theParc des Princes, and following the match during the celebrations for having won the league title, captainMarquinhos lifted the trophy while sporting his teammate's name on his chest.[44][45]
On 18 August 2023, Rico was discharged from the hospital.[46]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sevilla | 2014–15 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 11[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 47 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 24 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 10[d] | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 114 | 0 | 17 | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 170 | 0 | |||
| Fulham (loan) | 2018–19[49] | Premier League | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| Paris Saint-Germain (loan) | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||
| Mallorca (loan) | 2021–22 | La Liga | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Al-Gharafa | 2024–25 | Qatar Stars League | — | — | — | 7[f] | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 170 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 248 | 0 | ||
Sevilla
Paris Saint-Germain
