Former Barcelona star Marcos Alonso Pena, the father of ex-Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso, has reportedly passed away at the age of 63. He made 124 appearances for the Camp Nou outfit, scoring 28 goals.
The ex-winger has passed away following a battle with a long-term illness, though the illness itself has currently not been disclosed.
Alonso Pena attempted to follow in his father’s footsteps as a youngster, being taken on by Real Madrid. However, it wasn’t meant to be and he was moved back to his local side Racing Santander.
He made 51 appearances over the course of two years at the club before being signed by Atletico Madrid, where he developed further and caught the eye of Barcelona.
Alonso Pena helped the club lift the La Liga title during that time, breaking onto the international scene during his spell with Barca too – making 22 international appearances over the course of his career.
Former Bolton and Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso followed in his father’s footsteps over the summer when joining Barca, terminating his contract with the Blues so that he was attainable – given the La Liga outfit’s financial woes meant that they could not table a concrete bid. The defender has made 12 league appearances for Xavi’s side this season, starting just six matches and scoring once.
The 32-year-old is struggling for minutes at Camp Nou due to the good form of Jordi Alba, who worked with his manager when he was a player for three years. The emergence of Alex Balde from the Barcelona academy has also seen Alonso fall down the pecking order, with the 19-year-old seen as one of the brightest talents to come through the club’s ranks in more recent history.
Though that has not prompted Alonso to lose faith in his ability, penning a new deal with Barca last month. Speaking after the announcement, the left-back said: “I’m always happy to contribute to the team. The other day I was reading that statistically I was one of the best defenders in Barca’s history. But I have to keep working to improve.”
