Who Is Richard Ríos?

Richard Ríos is currently playing for SL Benfica after moving to Liga Portugal from Palmeiras, where he caught the eyes of many European scouts.

He is destined to be a key player for the Colombian national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and possibly to become one of the world's best midfielders in the not-too-distant future.

Richard Ríos is a relentless player with stamina, energy, and aggression, who will cover a lot of ground in a match.

Many clubs are still scouting Richard Ríos after his €27m move last summer to Benfica, and he could very well jump ship this summer if a big club comes in with a nice offer.

In this Richard Ríos scout report and player analysis, we are going to look at how he fits into José Mourinho tactics and Benfica style of play, assess what he looks like as a '6' and also as an '8'.

Richard Ríos Style Of Play As A '6'

Richard Ríos plays a key role in Colombia's and Benfica's build-up play and transition.

He's very comfortable receiving between opponent pressing shapes and is a quick thinker on the ball.

For Colombia, you can expect to see him more as a '6', whereas at Benfica, he's a hybrid of a '6' and an '8'.

Because he's more of a '6' with Colombia, he's gotten used to defending the top of the penalty box and making movements in and out of the backline to intensify the press. 

He is also very intelligent in seeing opportunities to make a step forward and look for an interception.

As we see here, he understands the French player cannot have time on the ball in this scenario, given the open green space, he makes the push forward to keep the press going.

Now the French player has lost the option of playing forward, given that Ríos will intercept.

Either he will be forced to push for a forward pass that can start a counter-attack if won back, or restart play. 

It's Ríos's quick thinking to understand this moment and instinctively rush forward.

He averages 0.80 interceptions, 1.17 tackles won, and 1.97 fouls committed per 90 this season.

So for every good defensive action, you can expect a foul to be committed.

Typically, you will find him on the right side of the defensive midfield when he's playing as a '6' for Benfica.

From here, he's tasked with finding diagonal passes into midfield and playing vertically.

Rather than being more central, he's given the role to drift out wide slightly in build-up play.

As we saw in the first image, where he's playing calmly between opponents' shapes, he's a very good dribbler, especially under pressure.

Ríos can break up play and covering depth, but he is also an elite ball carrier in midfield.

Richard Ríos Style Of Play As An '8'

Under José Mourinho's coaching style, his pressing as an '8' is just as aggressive as when he's playing the '6' role.

He's still just as intelligent in knowing when to step up and keep the pressure on, and he doesn't lose any aggressiveness, whether he's further down the pitch or higher up the pitch.

He understands how to keep the pressure on, and because he's very quick, he catches opponents off guard with his speed and how he tracks down yards.

His skills go beyond just helping the back line, keeping the pressure on and making smart interventions.

Because he's given more of a freedom role on the right side of the pitch, you can occasionally see him making runs forward.

Because he is in the press quite high up the pitch at times, you can see him make an attacking run, as he is already positioned for a quick counterattack, which can lead to a goal or assist.

He has five goals and five assists this season at the time of writing.

He understands covering space not only defensively but also in attack.

You can see quite a few times he plays the ball diagonally to the wide player and makes a run forward to drag defenders out of position.

He can play an attacking role here and there if needed.

When at Benfica, he isn't as close to the backline in the build-up as he was at Colombia.

At Benfica, he's playing higher up in the double pivot, tasked with receiving the ball and looking to break into the transition.

Richard Ríos Ball Carrying

As we mentioned before, he's very good at staying close to the ball on the dribble.

He's great at using his body to suppress space from the ball and the opponent.

When he sees the opportunity to dart forward and lead the transition, he has the confidence and technical skills to do so.

He's somewhat similar to a Sergio Busquets in turning on the ball when receiving with his back to the opponent.

This is another example of what we see in him as an '8', as well as in his attacking mindset.

He sees the space in front of the opponent press and the gap that can be exploited.