Marcos Llorente

Real Madrid

Born in Madrid, Llorente joined Real Madrid's youth setup in 2008, aged 13. In July 2014, after impressing with the Juvenil squad, he was promoted straight to the reserves by manager Zinedine Zidane. On 24 August 2014, Llorente made his senior debut, starting in a 2–1 away loss against Atlético Madrid B in the Segunda División B. He appeared in 25 matches during the campaign, totalling 1,637 minutes of action. Llorente spent the 2015 pre-season with the first team, appearing in friendlies against Manchester City, Inter Milan and Vålerenga. He made his professional – and La Liga – debut on 17 October of that year, coming on as a second-half substitute for Mateo Kovačić in the 3–0 home win over Levante. On 10 August 2016, Llorente was loaned to Alavés for the season. On 10 September, he featured the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 victory at Barcelona. On 23 September 2017, Llorente's contract was extended until 2021. He made one appearance in that campaign's UEFA Champions League, when Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall title in the tournament. Llorente had played just 11 minutes in 2018–19 until late November, when Casemiro dropped out with an ankle injury. Interim coach Santiago Solari handed the former his first starts as a defensive midfielder, and he scored his first competitive goal for the team on 22 December, the second in the 4–1 defeat of Al Ain in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup to earn him player of the match honours. At the…

Llorente earned his first cap for the Spain under-21 side on 10 October 2016, featuring the entire 5–0 home defeat of Estonia in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers, in Pontevedra. He was called up to the senior squad in November 2020, for a friendly with the Netherlands and UEFA Nations League qualifiers against Switzerland and Germany. He made his first appearance against the first opponent, replacing Sergio Canales for the last 18 minutes of the 1–1 draw in Amsterdam. On 24 May 2021, Llorente was included in Spain's 24-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. He was deployed as right-back during the tournament. Llorente was also picked for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He only took part in one match in Qatar, the 3–0 penalty shootout loss against Morocco in the last 16. Llorente was part of a 29-man preliminary squad for UEFA Euro 2024. However, he did not make the final cut. On 25 May 2026, Llorente was selected for the year's World Cup. In the final group fixture, he assisted Álex Baena for the only goal in a win over Uruguay in Zapopan; he made three appearances for the champions, including two starts. Llorente announced his international retirement in September 2026.

Originally a defensive midfielder or a playmaker in front of a back four, Llorente is also capable of playing in more advanced positions such as a central or box-to-box midfielder. At Atlético Madrid, under coach Diego Simeone, he was also fielded out of his regular position, first on the right side of the midfield in a 4–4–2 formation and later as a supporting forward in the same system. At the conclusion of 2019–20, Llorente was the sixth fastest player in the competition, with his top running speed clocked at 35.09 km/h. Apart from his physical attributes, such as pace, height, body fitness and stamina, his strengths also included excellent ball winning skills, visionary passing over both short and long distances, dribbling, first touch and shooting from just outside the penalty area, which led him to score several goals. The following season, as Atlético went through a tactical switch, he was usually deployed as either a box-to-box or an attacking midfielder in a 5–3–2 or 3–4–2–1 formations. On occasion, he also filled in as a right wingback for his club, or a right back in a four-man defence for the national team. For his training attitude and patience, Llorente was praised by Simeone and Jorge Valdano.

A boyhood supporter of Real Madrid, Llorente has ties in his family to both football and the club. His father Francisco and great uncle Francisco Gento were wingers, while his maternal grandfather Ramón Grosso was a forward. Late into his career, Llorente drew public scrutiny and examination for promoting unconventional health practices, including a strict paleolithic diet and anti-science views on sun exposure and skin cancer, eliciting criticism from medical professionals and the media.