Juan Riquelme Angulo

Juan Riquelme Angulo
Personal information
Full name Juan Riquelme Angulo Caicedo[1]
Date of birth (2008-01-12) 12 January 2008
Place of birth San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas, Ecuador[1]
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position Centre-forward
Team information
Current team
 Independiente del Valle
Youth career
Independiente del Valle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2026– Independiente del Valle 6 (2)
International career
2024 Ecuador U15 6 (4)
2025– Ecuador U17 6 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 April 2026

Juan Riquelme Angulo Caicedo (born 12 January 2008) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Independiente del Valle.

Club career

In August 2025, he went on trial with Spanish club Celta Vigo, alongside Independiente del Valle teammates Ariel Angulo and Zair Arroyo.[2] In October of the same year, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2008 worldwide.[3][4]

Angulo marked his professional debut for Independiente del Valle with a goal; the third in the club's 3–1 win against Mushuc Runa on 7 March 2026.[5] Having been linked with a move to English Premier League club Manchester United,[6] Independiente del Valle president Santiago Morales confirmed the club had not received any offers, following Angulo's good performance in the club's 0–0 Copa Libertadores draw with Argentine club Rosario Central.[7]

International career

Angulo was called up to the Ecuador under-15 squad for the 2023 South American U-15 Championship, held in October 2024. Goals against Uruguay and Brazil helped his side to a second place finish in the group stage, and he notched another against Chile in the semi-final. Despite finishing as the tournament's top scorer, he was unable to prevent his side losing 4–3 in a penalty shoot out to Paraguay in the final, after a 0–0 draw in normal time.[4]

In March 2025, following injuries to John Yeboah and Kevin Rodríguez, Angulo was called up by manager Sebastián Beccacece to the senior squad.[8] Despite this, he did not feature in Ecuador's 0–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification draw with Chile, and instead was called up to the under-17 squad for the 2025 South American U-17 Championship. Despite scoring in Ecuador's opening 4–0 win against Uruguay,[9] this would be his only goal in the competition, as Ecuador finished eighth.

Style of play

Standing at 1.93 m, Angulo has drawn comparisons to prolific Norwegian forward Erling Haaland.[10] He has been lauded for his agility and mobility, despite his height, but despite this advantage over other players, his lack of heading ability is a noted weakness, with his brother, José Enrique Angulo, stating that he "doesn't like" heading.[10][11]

Personal life

Angulo is the brother of fellow professional footballer José Enrique Angulo, and following good performances at the 2023 South American U-15 Championship, José stated that Juan was the "improved version" of him.[11]

Career statistics

As of 27 April 2026.[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Independiente del Valle 2026 LigaPro Serie A 62001[b]0—72
Career total 6200100072
  1. ↑ Includes Copa Ecuador
  2. ↑ Appearances in the Copa Libertadores

References

  1. 1 2 3 Juan Riquelme Angulo at WorldFootball.net
  2. ↑ "¡Juan Riquelme Angulo y 2 PROMESAS DE IDV van a cumplir con su Primera Experiencia en Europa!" [Juan Riquelme Angulo and two promising IDV players are about to have their first European experience!]. Futbol Ecuador (in Spanish). 20 August 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  3. ↑ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (14 October 2025). "Next Generation 2025: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 Ayala, Paul (15 October 2025). "Juan Riquelme Angulo, entre los 60 mejores juveniles del mundo, según The Guardian" [Juan Riquelme Angulo, among the 60 best young players in the world, according to The Guardian]. Expreso (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  5. ↑ "Juan Riquelme Angulo y su debut con gol en Independiente del Valle: "Lo importante es mantenerse"" [Juan Riquelme Angulo and his debut with a goal for Independiente del Valle: "The important thing is to stay in the game"]. ESPN (in Spanish). 7 March 2026. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  6. ↑ ""Gusta mucho": el interés del Manchester United por Juan Riquelme Angulo, joya de Independiente del Valle" ["He's very much liked": Manchester United's interest in Juan Riquelme Angulo, Independiente del Valle's star player]. Ole (in Spanish). 9 April 2026. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Independiente del Valle confirma que no ha recibido ofertas del Manchester United por Riquelme Angulo" [Independiente del Valle confirms they have not received any offers from Manchester United for Riquelme Angulo]. El Universo (in Spanish). 10 April 2026. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "¿Quién es Juan Riquelme Angulo, el convocado de apuro en Ecuador para las Eliminatorias?" [Who is Juan Riquelme Angulo, the player who was called up in a hurry to Ecuador for the qualifiers?]. Ole (in Spanish). 25 March 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Montalván, Christopher (31 March 2025). "Juan Riquelme Angulo: ¿Quién es el delantero ecuatoriano que brilla con la sub-17?" [Juan Riquelme Angulo: Who is the Ecuadorian striker shining for the U-17s?]. Expreso (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  10. 1 2 Piera, Joaquim (19 October 2024). "Alucinan con el Haaland ecuatoriano" [They are amazed by the Ecuadorian Haaland]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  11. 1 2 Palacios, Juan José (17 October 2024). "Tin Angulo sobre su hermano Juan Riquelme: "Es una versión mejorada de mí"" [Tin Angulo on his brother Juan Riquelme: “He’s an improved version of me.”]. Studio Futbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  12. ↑ Juan Riquelme Angulo at Soccerway
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