Albert Riera Ortega (born 15 April 1982) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Serbian SuperLiga club Red Star Belgrade.
Earlier a left winger and later also a left-back, he made a name for himself at Espanyol (with whom he won a Copa del Rey and reached the 2007 UEFA Cup final) and also played in France, England, Greece, Turkey, Italy and Slovenia, notably spending three years with Galatasaray. He won 16 caps for Spain, representing the nation at the 2009 Confederations Cup.
Riera began managing in 2022, leading Olimpija Ljubljana to the Slovenian PrvaLiga and Slovenian Football Cup titles for a double in his first season. He had two spells at Celje in the same country, also being in charge of Bordeaux in Ligue 2, Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and Red Star Belgrade of the Serbian SuperLiga.
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 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.
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.
Riera returned to Spain in 2005, when he signed for Espanyol. He played just eight league matches in his first season, 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. Espanyol went on to reach the UEFA Cup final at Hampden Park in 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.
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. He made his Premier League debut on the 13th, playing 71 minutes of a 2–1 home win against Manchester United, 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.