Rafa Marquez debuted for Atlas when he was 17 years old. From there he moved to Monaco, then to Barcelona, then to New York Red Bulls, then to Leon, then to Hellas Verona.
Along the way he won one Ligue 1 title, four La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues, the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Copa del Rey and the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura.
He's been named the Ligue 1 Defender of the Year and CONCACAF Player of the Year.
And now Rafa Marquez coming back to where it all began, where he came up through the ranks as a youth player and made his first professional appearance.
Marquez, 36, joins an Atlas club on the brink of relegation, having finished 16th out of 18 teams in the Apertura and needing a big push in the upcoming Clausura.
They're probably hoping their former youth player can give them a boost. In addition to the rise in morale Marquez is likely to bring, he's still an experienced and capable center back, and should compete well in Liga MX.
This isn't Ronaldinho to Queretaro, is what we're saying. At least, we don't think it is.
¡ES OFICIAL! @RafaMarquezMX estampó su firma y se convierte en jugador de Atlas para el Cl'16. #BienvenidoKáiser pic.twitter.com/Bccv4YLtRm
— Atlas FC (@atlasfc) December 21, 2015The prodigal son has returned to Atlas. Now Rafa Marquez just needs to help them win.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
