Raúl Mario Ruidíaz Misitich (; born 25 July 1990) is a Peruvian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for

Atlético Grau Club Atlético Grau, more commonly known as Atlético Grau or simply, Grau, is a Peruvian professional football club based in the city of Piura. The club was founded in 1919 and currently plays in the Peruvian Primera División, the top tier of P ...

in the

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

. His nickname, "The Flea", stems from his small frame and his ability to get past defenders with great ball control. Ruidíaz began his career at Universitario de Deportes in Peru and later played for

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División () is a professional association football league in Chile and the highest level of the Chilean football league system. Founded in 1933, it is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP). The l ...

club Universidad de Chile and Monarcas Morelia in

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

between stints with Universitario. He joined

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

in 2018 and became their all-time top goalscorer in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

play during his seven seasons with the club.

Club career

Universitario

Ruidíaz grew up in the

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

neighbourhood of

Villa María del Triunfo Villa María del Triunfo is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is located in the Cono Sur area of the city of Lima. It was officially established as a district on December 28, 1961. The current mayor (''alcalde'') of Villa María del Tr ...

. He is of maternal Croatian descent. He made his first steps in club football at Primera División club Universitario de Deportes aged eight. In January 2008, the player was promoted to the first adult team and immediately loaned to América Cochahuayco, the club's filial team, directed by the coach Héctor Chumpitaz, a historic football player of the Peruvian national team in the 1982 World Cup. His first professional goal was against Hijos de Acosvinchos. After the arrival of Jorge Gonzáles, he began to play as a striker. Ruidíaz made his professional debut in the Peruvian First Division on 4 October 2009 against Total Chalaco in the Monumental, at the age of 19. The coach at the time, Juan Reynoso, decided to play him from the start of the match, which finished 2–1 in favor of Universitario. He finished the season by scoring 3 goals in 7 games in the Peruvian 2009 Championship and also won his first National title with Universitario de Deportes. Ruidíaz has often been called ''pequeño Messi'' (little Messi) in his home country, mainly because of his ability to charge a player one on one, as well as his unique technical skills. Ruidiaz was listed among the greatest talents of South American football by O Globo Brazilian newspaper in 2010.

Universidad de Chile

On 20 January 2012, Ruidíaz was appointed as new player of the Primera División club Universidad de Chile. Despite some early success with his new club, Raul's lack of match fitness and the emergence of young talented strikers at the club Ruidíaz fell out of favour with the Universidad de Chile manager towards the end of the season. On 15 July 2012, Ruidíaz and club Universidad de Chile had mutually agreed to release him.

Morelia

After participating in the Copa América Centenario, Ruidíaz signed for Mexican club Monarcas Morelia on a season-long loan deal for a reported fee of €105,000. He was presented to the media in

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...

on 1 July 2016 and was given the number 9 shirt. Ruidíaz made his

debut on 15 July 2016 replacing Diego Valdés in a 2–0 away loss to

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

. The following week, in Morelia's home opener, Ruidíaz scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

. On 1 August 2016, Ruidíaz scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 4–2 away win against

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

. Ruidíaz ended the season with 11 goals which made him the season's top scorer along with

's Dayro Moreno. Before Morelia's Clausura 2017 home opener against

, Ruidíaz was honored with a commemorative plaque at Estadio Morelos for being the club's first Liga MX scoring champion. Ruidíaz later scored the second goal in Morelia's 2–0 opening match victory over Tijuana. Later that night, it was announced Morelia signed Ruidíaz to a permanent three-year transfer. Later in the season Ruidíaz scored his second hat-trick for Morelia in a 4–0 win over UNAM. In the final game of the season, Ruidíaz scored a crucial game-winning goal in a 2–1 away victory over

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

. The goal helped Morelia avoid relegation, helped the team qualify to the '' liguilla'' and helped Ruidíaz win his second straight Liga MX scoring title.

Seattle Sounders FC

On 6 June 2018, it was reported that Ruidíaz would be signing a contract with MLS side

. The signing was made official on 29 June, as the club announced Ruidiaz as a Designated Player. He set club records for being the fastest to 10 goals in MLS play (in 14 games), and scoring in the most consecutive appearances (8 games). On 10 November 2019, Ruidíaz scored Seattle's final goal in a 3–1 home win over

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

in the MLS Cup Final. In the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League Final, he scored two goals in a 3–0 win in the second leg against UNAM, in which his club secured their first title in the competition by winning 5–2 on aggregate. This was the first time (and as of March 2025, still the only time) that an MLS team has won the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

. Ruidíaz became the top goalscorer across all competitions in the team's MLS era on March 23, 2024, surpassing Fredy Montero's 79-goal record with the Sounders. On 4 December 2024, the Sounders announced that Ruidíaz would not return for an eighth season after his contract was not renewed.

Atlético Grau

On 3 April 2025,

of the

signed Ruidíaz to a one-year contract.

International career

Ruidíaz made his international debut on 7 June 2011 in a 0–0 draw against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in Niigata in the

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan national football team, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (Internatio ...

. In the same month, Ruidíaz was called up by coach Sergio Markarián to represent Peru in the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

held in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, Ruidíaz was a member of the Peruvian squad that finished 3rd, after a 4–1 victory over

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, Ruidíaz made only one appearance in the tournament in a match against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in which Peru lost 1–0. Ruidíaz was named as a member of Peru's 23-man squad for the Copa América Centenario in 2016. In Peru's third group match against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on 12 June 2016, Ruidíaz scored a controversial goal, a winner in the 75th minute by guiding the ball into the net with his arm. After a lengthy discussion between the referee and his assistant, the goal was allowed to stand, and Brazil went on to lose 1–0, resulting in their elimination from the tournament. The result sent Peru through to the

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

as winners of Group B. In May 2018, he was named in Peru's provisional 24 man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Peru's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ruidíaz goal.''

Honours

Universitario de Deportes * Torneo Descentralizado:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Universidad de Chile *

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

: 2012 Apertura Seattle Sounders FC *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Peru *

runner-up:

; third place:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Individual *

top scorer: 2013 Torneo Descentralizado *

Golden Boot: Apertura 2016, Clausura 2017 *

Best XI: Apertura 2016, Clausura 2017 *

Best Forward: 2016–17 * Liga MX Balón de Oro: 2016–17 * MLS Cup Playoffs top scorer:

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

Best XI:

References

External links

Raúl Ruidíaz
at Football-Lineups * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruidiaz, Raul 1990 births Living people Peruvian people of Croatian descent Footballers from Lima Peruvian men's footballers 21st-century Peruvian sportsmen Men's association football forwards Peruvian Primera División players Peruvian Segunda División players Club Universitario de Deportes footballers U América FC footballers FBC Melgar footballers Atlético Grau footballers Chilean Primera División players Club Universidad de Chile footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Coritiba Foot Ball Club players Liga MX players Atlético Morelia players Major League Soccer players Seattle Sounders FC players Designated Players (MLS) Peruvian expatriate men's footballers Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Chile Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Peru men's international footballers 2011 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 Copa América players CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players