Marcos Alonso comes from one of the most illustrious football families in history. His grandfather, Marquitos, was a Real Madrid legend and won five European Cups and five La Liga titles during his time at the club. His father, Marcos Alonso Pena, interestingly went on to play for both of Los Blancos’ biggest rivals, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. His great-grandfather, Luis Zabala, also played for the Catalan giants.
Alonso himself came through the Real Madrid youth system and even made an appearance for the first-team, but now finds himself at Barcelona.
While Alonso might have failed to make it at Santiago Bernabeu, he has gone on to have a very respectable career. He has been both European and English champion with Chelsea, while also playing for clubs like Fiorentina, Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland. Now let’s see what his time at Barcelona holds for him.
Alonso has stunningly claimed though that he was reluctant when first on trial with Real Madrid. As reported by SPORT, the Spaniard said:
"“It was complicated at first. After doing the trial a little reluctantly, they called me to join. My parents were laughing. In the end, it was the best for my development. I was there for many years. I grew as a person and a player. I can’t say I didn’t.”"
He also revealed that he was always a Barcelona fan:
"“My dad was coaching and we followed him through different cities, supporting the team where he was, but obviously his team was Barca and at home we were all Barca fans.”"
Alonso makes stunning Real Madrid claim having joined Barcelona this summer
Alonso has actually been playing more regularly for Barcelona this season than one would have expected when he arrived. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has made 11 appearances and played 763 minutes of football in total.
Even more surprisingly, he has been mostly deployed as a centre-back by Xavi, with a number of players there injured.
Alonso was left on the bench though, when Real Madrid managed to defeat Barcelona 3-1 in the first El Clasico of the season, at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Yet, having played a game more, Barcelona currently find themselves two points ahead of Real Madrid in the La Liga table. Carlo Ancelotti’s side will get their chance to go back on top though, when they face Rayo Vallecano.