Albert Luque

Mallorca

Born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia, Luque was a lifelong supporter of FC Barcelona, and started out in football on trial with them, but was released by the C team when he was 19. He was then taken by RCD Mallorca and assigned to their reserves, but eventually broke into the main squad after a successful loan spell at Málaga CF. In 2000–01, Luque scored nine goals for Mallorca, helping the Balearic Islands side qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history after finishing third. His extra time goal in the third qualifying round against HNK Hajduk Split carried the team into the first group stage.

Deportivo

Luque was transferred to Deportivo de La Coruña on 29 August 2002, in an eight-year deal worth €15 million (approximately £10 million), for strikers José Flores and Walter Pandiani (on loan). In his first season at Depor, he scored the winner against former club Málaga with a bicycle kick, adding further goals in 2–1 victories over Racing de Santander and RCD Espanyol; he netted seven times in La Liga during the campaign, mostly from substitute appearances. 2003–04 saw Luque firmly established as a starter, as he scored the winner against Rosenborg BK in the Champions League qualifying round, the only goal over both legs. He also netted in the knockout stages against Juventus FC and AC Milan, and added 11 more on the domestic front in his final year in Galicia.

Newcastle United

On 27 August 2005, Luque was…

Luque represented Spain at the 2000 Summer Olympics, playing twice as the national team won silver in Sydney. After a successful season at Mallorca, still uncapped for the senior team, he was called up to the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, making his international debut in a 3–2 group stage win against South Africa on 12 June 2002, and also appeared in the round-of-16 victory over the Republic of Ireland. Two years later, Luque played at UEFA Euro 2004, being used as a left winger in the 1–0 defeat to hosts Portugal. His last game was on 7 September 2005, in a 2006 World Cup qualifier against Serbia and Montenegro.

International goals

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Luque goal.

On 29 April 2019, Luque joined president Luis Rubiales' staff at the Royal Spanish Football Federation. In December 2022, he was appointed as its sporting director in place of José Francisco Molina, following a last-16 elimination at the 2022 World Cup. In 2023, Luque was named as a defendant in the Rubiales affair case, as he was accused of being among those who coerce Jenni Hermoso to reduce her pressure on Rubiales following the controversial kiss she received from Rubiales after winning the 2023 Women's World Cup. Although he was not part of the coaching staff, it was determined that he sought to reduce pressure on Rubiales and his status in the case would be upgraded from witness to suspect on 27 September. Despite his denial, evidence was shown that he used his WhatsApp account to try to get a friend of the player to convince her to reduce pressure on the chairman.

In November 2006, while driving to Newcastle International Airport for a UEFA Cup game away to Eintracht Frankfurt, Luque pulled his Porsche Cayenne over due to a puncture. Shortly after he got out the car to make a telephone call, the empty vehicle was struck by a lorry and destroyed. He managed to get a flight to Germany and played in the match.