Richmond Mamah Laryea ( ; Ga: ; born January 7, 1995) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

, on loan from

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, and the Canada national team.

College career

Prior to his college career, Laryea played for

Sigma FC Sigma Sports is a Canadian youth soccer development academy and player management company based in Mississauga, Ontario. They also operate a senior academy soccer team that currently competes in League1 Ontario, as Sigma FC. Over 140 Sigma player ...

Academy and

Dante Alighieri Academy Dante Alighieri Academy (Dante Alighieri, DAA, or Dante, official name: Dante Alighieri Catholic Academy) also known as Dante Alighieri Academy Catholic Secondary School is a Catholic public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by ...

in Toronto. Laryea played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

for two seasons, reaching the College Cup semi-finals in 2015. Laryea was named to the All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

Second Team in 2014, and was named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team in 2015. He played for

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian so ...

club

in 2015, where he was named a League All-Star. Following his sophomore season, Laryea signed a contract with

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

Club career

Orlando City

Laryea was drafted in the first round (7th overall) of the

2016 MLS SuperDraft The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in Ba ...

by Orlando City. He was loaned to

Orlando City B Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at Osce ...

in March 2016. After spending the first half of his second season once again on loan to OCB playing as both an attacking and defensive midfielder, Laryea made his MLS debut on June 25, 2017, subbing on for

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marke ...

in a 4–0 defeat to Chicago Fire. Laryea got his first MLS assist on September 27, 2017, assisting on

Yoshimar Yotún Víctor Yoshimar Yotún Flores (; born 7 April 1990) is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays for Peruvian Primera División club Sporting Cristal and the Peru national team. He can play as a left back, left winger, or defensive midfie ...

's goal against

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. He made his first career MLS start on the final day of the season away to

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

. On November 27, 2018, the club announced they had declined his contract option.

Toronto FC

On March 21, 2019, Laryea signed for MLS side

. Laryea scored his first goal for Toronto on May 26, 2019, in a 2–1 home defeat to the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

, was also his first MLS goal. Laryea scored his first playoff goal, against

DC United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Su ...

, and then defeated

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

to win the

Eastern Conference (MLS) The Eastern Conference is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Western Conference. As of 2023, the Eastern Conference contains fifteen teams. The conference has produced sixteen Supporters' Shield champions and ten M ...

playoffs. Laryea and

then lost to

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

in the 2019 MLS Cup final. Laryea would have his option for the 2020 season exercised by Toronto, keeping him with the club for 2020. On September 27, 2020, Laryea scored a solo goal and provided two assists in the second half of Toronto's 3–1 win against the league-leading

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

. Laryea was named the MLS Player of the Week as a result of his performance.

Nottingham Forest

On January 8, 2022,

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

signed Laryea on a transfer from Toronto FC, signing a three-and-a-half year contract. After featuring only sparingly in Forest's matchday squads during his first few months, Laryea made his debut on April 18 against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, as a second-half substitute for

Djed Spence Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spence (born 9 August 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Rennes, on loan from Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Early life Spence is the younger brother of actre ...

in an eventual 4-0 victory. In August 2022, he returned on loan to Toronto FC until the end of June 2023. To complete the transaction, Toronto sent $225,000 in General Allocation Money to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

and $125,000 in General Allocation Money to

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

to acquire the top spot in the MLS Allocation Order.

International career

In May 2016, Laryea was called to Canada's U23 national team for a pair of friendlies against

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

and

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

. Laryea scored in the opening match against Guyana. Laryea received his first call up to the senior team on August 26, 2019, for two

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League ( es, Liga de Naciones CONCACAF, french: Ligue des Nations de la CONCACAF) is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF, the ...

matches against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. He made his debut in the first match on September 7, 2019. On March 25, 2021, Laryea scored his first goal for Canada in a 5–1 win over

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

in the team's first 2022 World Cup qualifying match. In June 2021, Laryea was named to

Canada's Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

60-man preliminary squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. On July 1, he was named to the final 23-man squad. In November 2022, Laryea was called up to the squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

Personal life

Laryea is of Ghanaian descent. His younger brother, Reggie Laryea, plays soccer for semi-professional team

Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan Azzurri is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Vaughan, Ontario, that currently competes in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The semi-professional team was founded in 2014 by the Vaughan Soccer Club, which ...

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''As of March 25, 2021. Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Laryea goal.''

Honours

Toronto FC * Eastern Conference Championship (Playoffs):

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Nottingham Forest *

EFL Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , t ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laryea, Richie Living people 1995 births Canadian people of Ghanaian descent Canadian soccer players Soccer players from Toronto Association football midfielders Association football fullbacks Canada men's international soccer players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Sigma FC players Akron Zips men's soccer players Orlando City SC players Orlando City B players Toronto FC players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Orlando City SC draft picks League1 Ontario players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in England Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England