Rioja was born in
Las Cabezas de San Juan,
Seville,
Andalusia, and was a
CD Cabecense youth graduate. He made his senior debut on 2 September 2012, playing the last 22 minutes of a 2–0
Tercera División home win against
Cádiz CF B. Rioja scored his first senior goal on 18 November 2012, in a 4–0 home routing of
Arcos CF, and finished
the campaign with four goals in 35 appearances. On 27 June of the following year, he signed a three-year deal with
Real Madrid and was assigned to
the C-team in
Segunda División B. On 27 July 2014, Rioja joined another
reserve team,
Celta de Vigo B in the third division. On 4 January 2017, he moved to fellow league team
Marbella FC. On 23 July 2018, Rioja agreed to a two-year contract with
Segunda División side
UD Almería. He made his professional debut on 17 August, starting in a 1–0 away loss against
Cádiz CF. Rioja scored his first professional goal on 26 August 2018, netting the opener in a 1–1 home draw against
CD Tenerife. He was a regular starter for the club during
the campaign, contributing four goals in 39 appearances. On 1 July 2019, Rioja signed a four-year deal with
La Liga side
Deportivo Alavés, as the club activated his release clause. He made his debut in the league on 18 August, starting in a 1–0 home defeat of
Levante UD. On 22 August 2024, Rioja signed a two-year contract with
Valencia CF. ==Career statistics==