Mallorca Born in
Manacor,
Balearic Islands, Riera started his professional career with hometown club
Mallorca. He made his first-team debut on 25 February 2001 under
Luis Aragonés in
La Liga, as a 71st-minute
substitute for
Lluís Carreras in a 2–1 loss at
Racing de Santander, and scored his first goal on 27 May by coming off the bench to conclude a 4–0 home win over
Rayo Vallecano that secured a
UEFA Champions League place. He totalled 17 games and three goals in his first two seasons. In the
2002–03 campaign, already an undisputed starter, Riera helped the local team to
the conquest of the
Copa del Rey, and scored four league goals in 35 games.
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. In his
first season he played only eight league matches, 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. During that season, Espanyol
reached the
final of the UEFA Cup at
Hampden Park, 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 during
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 (2012) 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==