Rio Cardines
.jpg) Cardines with Crystal Palace in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rio Solomon Cardines | ||
| Date of birth | 1 July 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Stevenage, England | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Bristol City (on loan from Crystal Palace) | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2016 | Arsenal | ||
| 2016–2019 | London Colney Colts | ||
| 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) | 9 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023 | Trinidad and Tobago U17 | 3 | (1) |
| 2024 | Trinidad and Tobago U20 | 3 | (1) |
| 2025– | Trinidad and Tobago | 14 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 September 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 1 October 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
Crystal Palace
Cardines spent his early childhood at Arsenal's academy before being released at the age of 10. He then joined the successful London Colney Colts under-12 and under-15 teams based in St Albans, and went on to join Enfield Borough F.C. and Stevenage Borough Juniors. Cardines was signed by the Crystal Palace academy 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. He helped the Crystal Palace U21s win the 2023–24 Premier League International Cup. On 3 July 2024, he signed his first professional contract with the club. Cardines played for the Palace U21s in a 1–0 EFL Trophy loss to Stevenage on 20 August 2024.
Cardines first competitive involvement with the first-team was as an unused substitute in the 2025 FA Community Shield in August 2025, 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. He made his league debut on the final day of the 2025–26 season against Arsenal.
2026–27: Bristol City (loan)
On 11 August 2026, Cardines joined EFL Championship club Bristol City on a season-long loan.
International career
Although Cardines could have represented England, his country of birth, he instead chose Trinidad and Tobago, as he was eligible through his grandparents and gained Trinidadian citizenship on 10 February 2023. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago U17s that played at the 2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship. 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. In 2024, he was called up to the Trinidad and Tobago U20s for a set of 2024 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying matches.
Cardines was formally called up to the senior Trinidad and Tobago national team for the 2025 Unity Cup and debuted in that tournament in a 3–2 loss to Jamaica on 27 May 2025.
Style of play
Cardines is a quick athletic full-back capable of playing on either side of the defence and has also played as a wing-back.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 18 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 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Crystal Palace | 2025–26 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bristol City (loan) | 2026–27 | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
- ↑ Appearance in EFL Trophy
- ↑ Appearance in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 1 October 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2025 | 9 | 0 |
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 0 | |
Honours
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace U21
References
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Cardines bags goal and assists for Trinidad and Tobago U20s - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 27 February 2024.
- ↑ "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
- Rio Cardines at Soccerway
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