Oriol Riera came to the Barça youth teams after impressing in teams in his local area of Catalonia, Osona. A powerful presence in the penalty area, the striker worked his way up to the Barça Atlètic squad and eventually made his debut for the first team. 

A striker with a powerful presence in the opponents' box and a nose for goal, Oriol Riera began his career at FC Barcelona in the youth teams alongside the likes of Gerard Piqué, Cesc Fàbregas and Leo Messi. Riera made his debut for the Barça first team the same day as the Argentina superstar, 16 November 2003, in a friendly against FC Porto. The striker's official debut came a month later in a Copa del Rey game against Ciudad de Murcia. Coach Frank Rijkaard also included Riera in the squad for a Champions League fixture against AC Milan. 

In the summer of 2006 Riera left Barça for Cultural Leonesa before spells also at Celta B, Córdoba, Osasuna, Wigan in England, Western Sydney in Australia before returning to Spain to end his career at Fuenlabrada. The striker hung up his boots at the age of 34.