Rio Ngumoha

English footballer (born 2008)

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Rio Chima Ngumoha (born 29 August 2008) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool.

Club career

Chelsea

Ngumoha joined the Chelsea academy aged eight and scored in Chelsea's 3–1 win over Wolves in the U17 Premier League Cup final in April 2024.

Liverpool

Ngumoha joined Liverpool in the summer of 2024 which reportedly led to a worsening of relations between the two clubs due to the nature of his exit. On 5 February 2026, a Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) tribunal ordered that Liverpool must reimburse Chelsea a minimum of £2.8 million for Ngumoha's training and development while with the Blues.

In the autumn of the 2024–25 season, Ngumoha was called-up to train with the Liverpool first team squad by manager Arne Slot. He was named amongst the match day substitutes for Liverpool's EFL Cup tie against Southampton on 18 December 2024. On 11 January 2025, Ngumoha made his professional debut as a starter in Liverpool's 4–0 win against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup. He became the youngest Liverpool player to appear in the FA Cup aged 16 years, 135 days and at the same time became the youngest player to start a first-team game in the club's history, before being substituted off for Jayden Danns in the 71st-minute.

Ngumoha was included in the Liverpool squad for the July 2025 pre-season tour to Hong Kong and Japan. He featured for the club in pre-season friendlies, being praised for his performances, getting two goals and two assists across his four games. On 25 August, Ngumoha made his Premier League debut as an added-time substitute for Cody Gakpo and scored in the 10th minute of stoppage time, securing a 3–2 away win over Newcastle United and becoming the youngest goalscorer in club history. The goal also surpassed Darwin Núñez's winning goal against Nottingham Forest in March 2024 by a minute to become the club's latest game-winning goal in the Premier League. On 17 September, a month later, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 3–2 victory over Atlético Madrid, at just 17 years and 19 days old, making him the youngest Liverpool player to appear in the competition, breaking the previous record held by Trey Nyoni. A week later, on 25 September, he signed his first professional contract with Liverpool.

International career

Born in England, Ngumoha is of Nigerian and Guadeloupean descent. Rio holds both Nigerian and French nationalities from his parents. He made his England under-15 and England U16 debuts in 2023. In October 2024 he played for England U17. He was called-up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

On 3 September 2025, Ngumoha made his England U19 debut during a 2-0 win over Ukraine at the Pinatar Arena.

Style of play

Described as a “skillful” and “creative forward" Ngumoha was included in The Guardian’s 'Next Generation 2024: 20 of the best talents at Premier League clubs' series.