Ricardo Pérez de Zabalza Goytre (born 14 April 1977), commonly known as Richi, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder.
A late bloomer, he only began playing football well into his 20s, making his La Liga debut at 26. He spent most of his 12-year career with Real Murcia (two spells), making 308 appearances and scoring 36 goals across both major levels of Spanish football.
Club career After starting playing organised football aged already 23 with amateurs CF Rayo Majadahonda in his hometown of Madrid, Richi spent two further seasons with Atlético Madrid's reserves, having begun his career as a striker.Los ingenieros del fútbol (Football's engineers); Marca, 13 December 2011 (in Spanish)Richi es la gran amenaza para Orlando (Richi is the great threat to Orlando); Diario AS, 6 June 2003 (in Spanish) For the 2002–03 campaign he joined Real Murcia CF, achieving promotion and making his La Liga debut in his second year, his first appearance in the competition being in a 1–1 away draw against RC Celta de Vigo on 31 August 2003;El Murcia sale indemne de Balaídos (Murcia leave Balaídos unscathed); El Mundo, 31 August 2003 (in Spanish) first choice from the beginning, he scored twice in 35 games as the club returned to the top flight again in 2007.Richi se retira como jugador en el Murcia (Richi retires as a player at Murcia); La Opinión de Murcia, 18 July 2012 (in Spanish)
Richi signed with Segunda División's CD Tenerife in August 2008.El Tenerife confirma el fichaje de Richi (Tenerife confirm Richi's signing); Canarias al Día, August 2008 (in Spanish) He netted six goals in 36 matches, as the Canary Islands side returned to the top flight after seven years.Ewerthon (Zaragoza) alcanza a Nino (Tenerife) y ´hat trick´ de Ulloa (Ewerthon (Zaragoza) equals Nino (Tenerife) and Ulloa hat trick); El Confidencial, 14 June 2009 (in Spanish)Once años del último ascenso a Primera División (Eleventh anniversary of last promotion to Primera División); Vavel, 13 June 2020 (in Spanish)
Richi was not as important in the following season, playing nearly 1,600 less minutes and only scoring once, when he opened a 4–1 home win over RCD Espanyol on 14 March 2010.L'Espanyol fa aigües a Tenerife i perd una gran oportunitat d'enfonsar un rival directe (4–1) (Espanyol flounder in Tenerife and miss great opportunity to sink direct rivals (4–1)); 3Cat, 15 March 2010 (in Catalan) In the summer, with Tenerife ultimately relegated, the 33-year-old returned to Murcia, also relegated but in the second tier.Richi vuelve al Murcia para ascender "porque Segunda B se queda pequeña" (Richi returns to Murcia to promote "because Segunda B is just too small"); La Verdad, 20 July 2010 (in Spanish)
Personal life Richi majored in energy engineering at the Technical University of Madrid.
Honours Murcia Segunda División: 2002–03Un ascenso inolvidable en La Condomina (Unforgettable promotion at La Condomina); La Verdad, 26 May 2013 (in Spanish) Segunda División B: 2010–11El Real Murcia, campeón de Segunda B en los penaltis (Real Murcia, Segunda B champions on penalties); Marca, 13 June 2011 (in Spanish)
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