Kenneth Vargas
Costa Rican footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenneth Gerardo Vargas Vargas (born 17 April 2002) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a forward for Herediano, on loan from Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian[2] and the Costa Rica national team.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Gerardo Vargas Vargas[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 April 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | San José, Costa Rica | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| Number | 77 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2020 | Herediano | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2024 | Herediano | 55 | (12) |
| 2020–2022 | → Municipal Grecia (loan) | 28 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | → Heart of Midlothian (loan) | 33 | (6) |
| 2024– | Heart of Midlothian | 29 | (4) |
| 2025– | → Herediano (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Costa Rica U23 | 11 | (5) |
| 2023– | Costa Rica | 21 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | |||
Club career
Herediano and Grecia loan
Vargas played for Municipal Grecia on loan from C.S. Herediano. After returning to Herediano, he scored on his senior league debut for the club, against Grecia, on 15 January 2022.[4] He went on to score 10 goals in 41 appearances in the Liga FPD, the Costa Rican first division, in 2022.[5]
Heart of Midlothian
On 7 August 2023, Vargas joined Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian on a season-long loan deal from Herediano, with an option to purchase outright.[6]
Vargas was permanently signed by Hearts on 26 March 2024 on a five-season contract.[7]
On 17 September 2025, Vargas returned to Herediano on loan until January 2026. Heredia was willing to pay only 6% of his salary loan from Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian. Due to the disagreement on his salary and personal growth, Vargas decided signed with Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, since the club was able to afford 100% of his salary and growth opportunities with the club's training camp CAR. [8]
International career
Capped at under-23 level,[9] Vargas received his first call-up to the Costa Rica senior national team in 2021.[10] In October 2022 he was again called up to the national team set-up but didn't make an appearance from the substitute bench.[11]
Personal life
His father, also called Kenneth Vargas and nicknamed “Huevo”, was a professional footballer in Costa Rica who played as a striker. Kenneth Vargas Jnr is subsequently nicknamed “Huevito”.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 26 October 2025[3]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grecia (loan) | 2020–21 | Liga FPD | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Liga FPD | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 3 | |||
| Total | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | ||
| Herediano | 2021–22 | Liga FPD | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| 2022–23 | Liga FPD | 33 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 3[b] | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | 52 | 12 | |
| 2023–24 | Liga FPD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 45 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 67 | 14 | ||
| Heart of Midlothian (loan) | 2023–24 | Scottish Premiership | 33 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2[d] | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 42 | 9 |
| Heart of Midlothian | 2024–25 | Scottish Premiership | 29 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8[f] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 41 | 4 |
| Herediano | 2025–26 | Liga FPD | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| Career total | 140 | 27 | 14 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 182 | 31 | ||
- Appearances in the CONCACAF League
- Appearance in the Costa Rican Super Cup
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in the Scottish League Cup
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 18 November 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 2023 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 11 | 2 | |
| Total | 21 | 3 | |
Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 October 2024 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica |  Guatemala | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League A |
| 2 | 21 March 2025 | FFB Stadium, Belmopan, Belize |  Belize | 3–0 | 7–0 | 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification |
| 3 | 9 September 2025 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica |  Haiti | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |