Ricardo Pepi

Ricardo Daniel Pepi (born January 9, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven and the United States national team.

Pepi had his breakthrough with Major League Soccer club FC Dallas and was named the MLS Young Player of the Year in 2021. In 2022 he joined Bundesliga club FC Augsburg and was later loaned to Eredivisie club FC Groningen, where he scored 12 goals in 29 league appearances. In 2023 he signed with PSV Eindhoven for €9 million ($9.8m).

Born to Mexican-American ancestry, he represented the United States at the youth U17 level. He made his senior debut in 2021 and won the CONCACAF Nations League in 2023.

Pepi was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in nearby San Elizario. He has Mexican ancestry through his family who were from Mexico, with Pepi regularly crossing the border to neighboring Ciudad Juárez to visit family. Pepi began playing recreational soccer when he was only four years old in local El Paso leagues. He soon began playing competitive organized soccer for a club coached by his father, Daniel Pepi. The club would soon become affiliated with Major League Soccer club FC Dallas, who scouted Pepi following the Copa Chivas tournament in 2016, offering the then 13-year old the opportunity to join the FC Dallas youth academy.

In his first season, Pepi was put into the under-13 side and scored 18 goals in just 15 games, leading him to rise up the ranks within the club. He was soon promoted to the under-17 side as a 15-year old, scoring 19 goals in eight matches.