Rio Cardines
.jpg) Cardines with Crystal Palace in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rio Solomon Cardines[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 July 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Stevenage, England[2] | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Bristol City (on loan from Crystal Palace) | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2019–2022 | Enfield Borough F.C. | ||
| –2022 | Stevenage Borough Juniors | ||
| 2022–2025 | Crystal Palace | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Crystal Palace | 1 | (0) |
| 2026– | → Bristol City (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023 | Trinidad and Tobago U17 | 3 | (1) |
| 2024 | Trinidad and Tobago U20 | 3 | (1) |
| 2025– | Trinidad and Tobago | 11 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12 September 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 06:13, 30 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Rio Solomon Cardines (born 1 July 2006) is a professional footballer who plays as a full-back or wing-back for EFL Championship club Bristol City, on loan from Premier League club Crystal Palace. Born in England, he plays for the Trinidad and Tobago national team.
Club career
[edit]Cardines 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.[4] He joined the youth academy of Crystal Palace at under-16 level in 2022 and was part of the team who won a pre-season tournament against Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Dundee United in August of that year.
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.[5] On 3 July 2024, he signed his first professional contract with the club.[6] Cardines played for the Palace U21s in a 1–0 EFL Trophy loss to Stevenage on 20 August 2024.[7]
Cardines first competitive involvement with the first-team was as an unused substitute in the 2025 FA Community Shield in August 2025,[8] 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.[9] He made his league debut on the final day of the 2025–26 season against Arsenal.
2026–27: Bristol City (loan)
[edit]On 11 August 2026, Cardines joined EFL Championship club Bristol City on a season-long loan.[10]
International career
[edit]He can represent England, his country of birth, as well as the Trinidad and Tobago or Venezuela through his parents.[2][11] A dual-citizen, he gained Trinidadian citizenship on February 10th 2023.[12] He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago U17s that played at the 2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.[13] In 2024, he was called up to the Trinidad and Tobago U20s for a set of 2024 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying matches.[12]
On 1 July 2023, Cardines was part of the preliminary 60-man squad for the senior Trinidad and Tobago national team for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[14] He was formally called up to the senior Trinidad and Tobago national team for the 2025 Unity Cup.[15] He debuted in that tournament in a 3–2 loss to Jamaica on 27 May 2025.[16]
Style of play
[edit]Cardines is a full-back capable of playing on either side of the defence and has also played as a wing-back.
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 12 September 2026
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Crystal Palace U21 | 2024–25[17] | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Crystal Palace | 2025–26[18] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bristol City (loan) | 2026–27 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
- ↑ Appearance in EFL Trophy
- ↑ Appearance in UEFA Conference League
International
[edit]- As of match played 30 March 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2025 | 9 | 0 |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 0 | |
Honours
[edit]Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace U21
References
[edit]- ↑ "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". www.premierleague.com.
- 1 2 Media, TTFA (10 February 2023). "CARDINES GETS T&T PASSPORT".
- ↑ "Rio Cardines Crystal Palace U21 Midfielder, Profile & Stats | Premier League". www.premierleague.com.
- ↑ Metcalfe, Neil (22 June 2021). "Stevenage Borough Juniors crowned national champions after tense victory". The Comet. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- 1 2 Smith, Dom (16 May 2024). "Crystal Palace Under-21s crowned Premier League International Cup champions". The Standard.
- ↑ "Rio Cardines signs professional contract with Crystal Palace". Soca Warriors Online - Trinidad and Tobago Football. 24 April 2025.
- ↑ "Stevenage vs Crystal Palace U21: EFL Trophy". BBC Sport.
- ↑ "Crystal Palace vs Liverpool LIVE: Community Shield score, lineups, radio & updates". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ↑ Walcott, Roneil (3 October 2025). "'Dreams turn to reality' as Rio Cardines makes Crystal Palace debut". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ↑ "Cardines joins Bristol City on loan". Crystal Palace F.C. 11 August 2026. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Mora, Carlos. "¡Era elegible por la Vinotinto! Talento de la Premier League se va con Trinidad y Tobago". Meridiano.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2026.
- 1 2 "Cardines bags goal and assists for Trinidad and Tobago U20s - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 27 February 2024.
- ↑ "COOPER NAMES 20-MAN SQUAD FOR CONCACAF U-17S". thettfa.com. Trinidad & Tobago Football Association. 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ "2023 Concacaf Gold Cup preliminary rosters announced". Gold Cup. 1 June 2023.
- ↑ "Yorke names Cardines, 'Bongo' and Bateau in 24-man team for Unity Cup". 24 May 2025.
- ↑ Liburd, Lasana (27 May 2025). "Molino and 'Bongo' net; but Jamaica hold off T&T 3-2 in Unity Cup".
- 1 2 "Games played by Rio Cardines in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- 1 2 "Games played by Rio Cardines in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ↑ "FA Cup holders Crystal Palace beat Premier League champions Liverpool 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw to win an enthralling Community Shield at Wembley". BBC Sport. 10 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ↑ McKenna, Chris (27 May 2026). "Crystal Palace 1–0 Rayo Vallecano". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
External links
[edit]- Rio Cardines at Soccerway
 | ||
- 2006 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Stevenage
- English men's footballers
- Trinidad and Tobago men's footballers
- Trinidad and Tobago men's international footballers
- Trinidad and Tobago men's youth international footballers
- English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent
- English people of Venezuelan descent
- Trinidad and Tobago people of English descent
- Trinidad and Tobago people of Venezuelan descent
- Sportspeople of Venezuelan descent
- Sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent
- Men's association football full-backs
- Crystal Palace F.C. players
- 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago sportsmen
- 21st-century English sportsmen
- 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- UEFA Conference League–winning players