Al-Ittihad announced Richard Ríos on 2 September 2026 with a message in Spanish, “Hola, Ríos”, and artwork built around Colombian coffee. The announcement is light in form; the contract underneath is not. It is a one-season loan until June 2027, with wages paid in full by the Jeddah club and no option to buy. And it is precisely the missing clause that tells the story better than the ones that are present.
The deal at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Player | Richard Ríos Montoya, 26, born 2 June 2000 in Vegachí |
| Position | Central midfielder, 1.85 m |
| From | SL Benfica |
| To | Al-Ittihad, Jeddah |
| Structure | Loan until June 2027, no option to buy |
| Wages | Covered by Al-Ittihad, according to press reconstructions |
| Loan fee | Around 4 million euros per the press, no figure declared by the clubs |
| Contract with Benfica | Until 2030, signed on 22 July 2025 |
| Announcement | 2 September 2026, Al-Ittihad official channels |
| Saudi window closes | 6 September 2026 |
The clause that is not there
In a market where almost every loan carries a purchase formula attached, an option, a right, or a conditional obligation, the absence of that line is a decision rather than an oversight. A loan with no option means the selling club has not put the player on the market: it has parked him for a season, taking a fee and saving twelve months of wages, without handing anybody else the power to decide his future.
Benfica announced him on 22 July 2025 with a five-year contract, so until 2030. In June 2027 Ríos returns to Lisbon with three years still to run, and the club remains the only party able to decide whether to keep him, sell him or loan him again. The cost of that arrangement sits entirely on the Saudi side, which pays for a year of performances without buying anything permanent.
On the figures the usual caution applies. Neither club has published an amount: the fee of around 4 million euros and the full wage coverage circulate through specialist journalists and transfer archives, and in the first hours those same sources moved between 3 and 4 million. They are reconstructions, not communicated numbers, and we treat them as such.
One game out of six, and that is the whole story
The reason a midfielder who was at the World Cup in June leaves Benfica in September sits in a small number: one appearance in the team’s first six matches of the season under Marco Silva.
Ríos spoke about it at the airport before leaving, in remarks gathered by CNN Portugal on 3 September and reported in Spanish by the Colombian press. The words are these: “Tuvimos poco tiempo para trabajar”, we had little time to work together. And then the passage that holds the rest together: “Todavía tengo contrato con el Benfica. Podría decir muchas cosas aquí, pero quién sabe si, al final, volveremos… Lo primero y único que tengo que decir es gracias por todo, por el cariño”. I still have a contract with Benfica, I could say a lot of things here, but who knows whether in the end we will come back: the first and only thing I have to say is thank you for everything.
It is the player himself, without using any contractual language, describing the structure of the deal: the return is not a distant possibility, it is the destination written into the paperwork.
Who he is: from futsal to a World Cup
Ríos’s sporting biography is less linear than that of a European midfielder of the same age. He was born in Vegachí, Colombia, on 2 June 2000, and started out playing futsal. Flamengo noticed him in 2018 during a South American youth tournament, invited him for a trial and signed him to their eleven-a-side youth setup after two months.
He barely played at Flamengo, seven matches in all between 2020 and 2022, with a loan spell in Mexico at Mazatlán in between. The turn came at Guarani, in the Brazilian second division, and above all at Palmeiras: 138 matches and 11 goals between 2023 and 2025 in all competitions, with a Brazilian league title in 2023 and a Paulista in 2024, plus 21 appearances and 3 goals in the Copa Libertadores and 5 games at the 2025 Club World Cup, the tournament that put him in front of European scouts.
Benfica took him from there in July 2025. In Portugal he put together 29 appearances and 5 goals in his first season, winning the Super Cup. With Colombia he is on 37 caps and 2 goals: debut on 12 October 2023 against Uruguay, runner-up at the 2024 Copa América behind Argentina, a place in Néstor Lorenzo’s 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup and a tournament debut on 17 June in the 3-1 win over Uzbekistan, coming on late.
On the other side: a midfield to rebuild
Al-Ittihad are not buying a name for the shop window, they are filling a hole. The Jeddah club finished the 2025-26 season fifth and changed manager: since July 2026 the bench belongs to German coach Jens Wissing, 38, who arrived from Gamba Osaka after winning the 2025-26 AFC Champions League, with a contract until 2028.
The department that lost most weight is midfield: N’Golo Kanté went to Fenerbahçe in January, Fabinho left in the summer, and Mahamadou Doumbia ruptured a cruciate ligament. The additions made before Ríos, according to the Saudi press, had not been judged sufficient by the new coach. A 26-year-old midfielder with a World Cup in his legs, available on loan because he is not playing elsewhere, is exactly the profile a club looks for in a window about to shut.
Because the Saudi window, it should be said, is still open: the Roshn Saudi League opened on 22 July 2026 and closes on 6 September, five days after the five main European leagues. That gap is what allows deals like this one once the European market has finished, and it produces the same scenes every summer.
What to watch now
The first date is close: Ríos was expected in Jeddah on Thursday 3 September, with the stated aim, according to the local press, of being available for Saturday’s match against Al-Nassr. A debut in a top-of-the-table meeting after a single session with his new team is the kind of choice that shows how much hurry the club is in.
The second date is June 2027 and it is the more interesting one. A loan with no option produces a rare situation: in twelve months Benfica will get back a player with three years of contract, a full season of football in his legs and a market value that will depend only on how he has played. It is the opposite of a conditional obligation, where the sale is already decided and the season merely triggers the condition. Here the season decides for real, and the one deciding will be the club that still holds the registration.
Sources: official Al-Ittihad announcement of 2 September 2026 on the club’s channels; Benfica statement of 22 July 2025 for the five-year contract; the player’s remarks gathered by CNN Portugal on 3 September 2026 and reported in Spanish by the Colombian press; Arab News for Al-Ittihad’s sporting context; public and encyclopaedic archives for biographical data, appearances, goals and international career. The financial terms were not communicated by the clubs and come from journalistic reconstructions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the structure of Richard Ríos's move to Al-Ittihad?
A one-season loan, until June 2027, with no option to buy and with the player's wages fully covered by the Saudi club. Al-Ittihad announced the arrival on 2 September 2026 on their own channels. The financial detail does not appear in the club's message: the loan fee of around 4 million euros and the full wage coverage come from specialist journalists and transfer archives, so they should be read as reconstructions.
Why did Benfica not include an option to buy?
Because a loan with no option is the contractual way of saying the player is not for sale. Ríos is under contract with Benfica until 2030, signed on 22 July 2025 when the club announced a five-year deal, and in June 2027 he returns to Lisbon with nobody able to decide otherwise. The club banks a fee, saves a full season of wages and keeps control of the registration.
How many minutes had he played for Benfica this season?
Few: he is recorded as having featured in only one of Benfica's first six matches of the season under Marco Silva. That is the number that explains the request to leave, and the player himself put it down to the lack of time to work together.
Who is Richard Ríos?
A Colombian central midfielder born on 2 June 2000 in Vegachí, 1.85 metres tall. He started out in futsal and was spotted by Flamengo in 2018 during a South American youth tournament. Then came Guarani, Palmeiras with 138 games and 11 goals between 2023 and 2025, and Benfica from July 2025. With Colombia he has 37 caps and 2 goals, a runners-up finish at the 2024 Copa América and a World Cup debut on 17 June 2026 against Uzbekistan.
What situation are Al-Ittihad in?
Fifth place in the 2025-26 Saudi league and a new bench: since July 2026 the head coach is German Jens Wissing, 38, who arrived from Gamba Osaka after winning the 2025-26 AFC Champions League, under contract until 2028. Midfield is the area the club had to rebuild after N'Golo Kanté left in January and Fabinho in the summer, on top of Mahamadou Doumbia's cruciate ligament injury.
Is the Saudi transfer window still open?
Yes. The Roshn Saudi League summer window opened on 22 July 2026 and closes on 6 September, five days after the five main European leagues shut on 1 September. That is why a deal like this one can still be done with the European market already closed.
