Rafael Márquez Álvarez (Spanish: [rafaˈel ˈmaɾkes] ⓘ; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican football coach and former player who played as a defender.

[3][4][5] Márquez began his career with Atlas in 1996, playing in over 70 games with the club before moving to France in 1999 with Monaco, where he won a Ligue 1 title.

After being released from the club in 2012, he returned to his native Mexico, this time to play for León,[6] captaining the team to back-to-back Liga MX titles in 2013 and 2014.

In 2018, he became only the fourth player to play for his national team in five consecutive editions of the FIFA World Cup, alongside compatriot Antonio Carbajal, Lothar Matthäus, and Gianluigi Buffon, appearing in the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 tournaments.

Márquez rose to prominence while with Atlas, making 77 appearances for the team and being runner-up in the league, losing the final against Toluca on penalties during the Verano 1999 tournament.

During his second season, he was moved from his natural position as a centre-back to a defensive midfield role, due to injuries to players Thiago Motta, Edmílson and Gerard.

A month after an injury to his left knee, Márquez returned to play against A.C. Milan in the first leg of the 2006 UEFA Champions League semi-final.

[3] Following his participation with Mexico at the 2006 World Cup, Márquez signed a four-year contract extension with Barcelona, with the buy-out clause set at €100 million.

Even so, new coach Pep Guardiola continued to rely on his contributions; with the departure of Ronaldinho, Márquez had become the last original signing of the Frank Rijkaard era to remain on the team.

[17] On 28 April 2009, during Barcelona's 2008–09 Champions League semi-final match against Chelsea, Márquez sustained a knee injury which required surgery, meaning he would miss the remainder of the season.

[23] In his 12-year European career, Márquez appeared in 46 UEFA Champions League matches, which was the most by a Mexican or CONCACAF player,[24] until compatriot Javier Hernández surpassed that record in 2017.

[25] At the time, Márquez was also one of two players from CONCACAF to play in a Champions League final, the other being Trinidad and Tobago's Dwight Yorke for Manchester United in 1999.

[24] After seven years with and being released by Barcelona and participating at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it was reported that Italian club Juventus were interested in signing Márquez as a back-up for defender Leonardo Bonucci.

[27] He was the club's third Designated Player and was unveiled to the media at Red Bull Arena on 3 August wearing the number 4 jersey and reuniting with former Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry.

On 21 October, Márquez started for the Red Bulls in a 2–0 victory over New England Revolution which clinched the regular season Eastern Conference title.

[5][32] Hours after being released by the New York Red Bulls, it was announced that Márquez signed with Liga MX side León, returning to his home country after 13 years abroad.

It was reported that his call-up was due to an error made by national team coach Bora Milutinović, who wanted to call up fellow Atlas player César Márquez.

Márquez started all four of Mexico's games during the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where he was given the captain's armband by then coach Javier Aguirre despite his young age of 23.

He received a red card during Mexico's second round 2–0 loss to the United States for a deliberate mid-air head butt on Cobi Jones in the final minutes of the match.

[53] On 11 November 2016, in a 2018 World Cup qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, Márquez scored the winning goal for Mexico in the 89th minute to seal a 2–1 victory over the United States.

[55] This meant he would travel to his fifth World Cup finals, becoming only the fourth player in history to do so, alongside German Lothar Matthäus, Italian Gianluigi Buffon and fellow Mexican Antonio Carbajal.

[56] He was substituted in for Andrés Guardado at the 74th minute in Mexico's 1–0 win over defending-champions Germany, and became the third man in history to play at a fifth World Cup.

[57] On 2 July, in Mexico's round of 16 match against Brazil, Márquez became the first player ever to play as a captain in five World Cups and was substituted off at half-time, marking his last appearance as a professional.

[65] In his first season in charge, he led Barça Atlètic to a fourth place finish, qualifying for the promotional playoffs before being eliminated by Real Madrid Castilla 5–4 on aggregate.

[3][4][5] He has been described as elegant on the ball and in his tackling, possessing excellent technical ability and vision, tactical awareness, dependable in the air for both defending and attacking, and being skillful coming out of defense.

[79] On 9 August 2017, it was reported that Márquez was among 22 people sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (also known as the "Kingpin Act") by the United States Treasury Department for alleged ties to a drug trafficking organization allegedly headed by Raúl Flores Hernández,[80] a suspected drug trafficker with links to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.