Marc Crosas Luque (born 9 January 1988) is a Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Crosas is also a football analyst for

TUDN TUDN (pronounced tu-de-ene; formerly called Univision Deportes Network) is a Mexican Spanish language sports channel. Owned by TelevisaUnivision, it is an extension of the company's sports division of the same name, with TUDN the acronym of Tel ...

. He is a Mexican naturalized citizen.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in

Sant Feliu de Guíxols Sant Feliu de Guíxols () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Baix Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the Costa Brava and is an important port and tourist centre. The district ...

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Crosas came through the ranks at

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

and signed a five-year contract in 2006. On 8 November 2006, Crosas made his first-team debut in a

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

tie against

CF Badalona Club de Fútbol Badalona () is a Spanish football team based in Badalona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903 it plays in , temporarily holding home games at Estadi Municipal de Badalona, with a capacity of 4,170 seats. Ba ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and spent most of his career at La Liga club Barcelona. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was known ...

in the 76th minute. Crosas was named in the Barcelona squad which competed in the 2006 Club World Cup in December, in Japan where the club finished runners-up. On 12 December 2007, he played in his first Champions League match against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

. Crosas scored the winning penalty in the final of the 2007

Copa Catalunya The Copa Catalunya () is a knockout competition organised by the Catalan Football Federation for football clubs in the Catalonia autonomous community of Spain. History Between 1903 and 1940, it was known as the ''Catalan football championship ...

in which Barcelona beat

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.

Lyon

On 11 January 2008, Barcelona and

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

reached an agreement in which Crosas would play on loan for the French champions until the end of the season, because of the number of players competing for his central midfield position. This happened due to the fact that the Spaniard could not get into the main part of the Catalan club. However, he had not given up hope of playing for the Blaugrana, saying, "I leave with the intention to return. That is my objective."Marc Crosas
Eyefootball, 24 May 2008 Crosas trained closely with

Juninho Pernambucano Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior (born 30 January 1975), commonly known as Juninho Pernambucano or simply Juninho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who was most recently the Director of football, sportin ...

in order to improve his development at Lyon. Crosas made his Ligue 1 debut for Lyon on 20 January 2008 in a match against

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

, starting in place of Juninho, who was out with a

dislocated A joint dislocation, also called luxation, occurs when there is an abnormal separation in the joint, where two or more bones meet. A partial dislocation is referred to as a subluxation. Dislocations are commonly caused by sudden trauma to th ...

toe. Unfortunately for him, Lyon suffered a disappointing defeat, losing 3–0. When his loan was coming to an end,

Jean-Michel Aulas Jean-Michel Antoine Aulas (; born 22 March 1949) is a French businessman. He is the founder of Cegid (Compagnie Européenne de Gestion par l'Informatique Décentralisée), and from 1987 to 2023, he served as the president of French football club ...

told

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

"It's possible that the player will stay with us. He had a good half season at the club and people like him. We were satisfied by his performances and when we've taken a decision on the new coach, we'll see if he can continue with us."

Celtic

In August 2008, Crosas joined

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

for a fee of £415,000 rising to £1.6 million depending on appearances, and signed a four-year contract. Barcelona retained a £1.65 million buy-back option which took effect at the end of the 2009–10 season. He was paraded at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

before the match with St Mirren. He made his debut for the first team as a substitute for

Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State *Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, born ...

against

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

at Celtic Park on 23 August 2008 and his first on 13 September against

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

. On 4 October, he was awarded man of the match for his performance against

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

after completing his first full 90 minutes for Celtic. On 28 January 2009, Crosas scored in the penalty shootout of the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

semi-final against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

. Celtic won the shootout 11–10. On 28 February 2009, Crosas scored his first Celtic goal in a 7–0 home win against St Mirren; a powerful curving shot from 30 yards, which was later voted Celtic's Goal of the Season. He was also voted Celtic's Young Player of the Season in his first season with the club.Volga sign midfielder Marc Crosas from Celtic
BBC Sport, 18 February 2011 In the 2009–10 season, Crosas was not initially a regular starter in midfield as

Massimo Donati Massimo Donati (born 26 March 1981) is an Italian professional football manager, pundit and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current head coach of club Sampdoria. Born in San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy, Donati made 314 app ...

and loan signing

Landry N'Guémo Landry may refer to: People * Landry (surname) Landry is a surname of French origin. Notable persons with the surname include: *Adolphe Landry (1874–1956), French demographer and politician *Ali Landry (born 1973), American actress and model * ...

were first picks. After Donati's transfer to

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, Crosas got a chance to shine and forged a successful partnership with N'Guemo, becoming a staple of the Celtic starting eleven. At the start of the 2010–11 season, Crosas fell out of favour under new Celtic manager

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...

, but on 22 September he came off the bench to replace

Joe Ledley Joseph Christopher Ledley (born 23 January 1987) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He started his career with then Championship side Cardiff City where he spent six years. He helped the club to the F ...

in a 6–0 League Cup win over

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...

Volga

Crosas was transferred by Celtic to

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

side FC Volga in February 2011 for £300,000, signing a contract until December 2014. Crosas also joined Volga to kickstart his career with regular first-team football. Crosas made his debut in Volga shirt in a 2–0 victory over

Tom Tomsk FC Tom Tomsk () was a Russian professional football club, based in the Siberian city of Tomsk. The team played in Trud Stadium (Tomsk) before being dissolved in 2022. History The team was previously named ''Burevestnik'' (1957), ''Tomich'' (195 ...

. Crosas made 26 appearances and assisted 5 goals in his 11 months at the Russian side.

Santos Laguna

After having trouble adapting to life in Russia with FC Volga, Crosas signed a three-year deal with Mexican side

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

. Following his move to Mexico, Crosas revealed that his Celtic teammate

Efraín Juárez Efraín Juárez Valdez (born 22 February 1988) is a Mexican football manager and former player. He is the current head coach of UNAM. Club career Early Career Juárez joined the Pumas youth system at the age of thirteen. After winning the 200 ...

played a part in his surprise move to Mexico. Crosas was introduced to the supporters of Santos Laguna before the match between Santos Laguna and Jaguares which Santos Laguna won 1–0. He made his team debut as a substitute in an away match against Monarcas Morelia where Santos lost 3–1 on 12 February 2012. On 7 March 2012, he made his first appearance in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

against

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

team

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. He assisted

Herculez Gomez Herculez Gomez (born April 6, 1982) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He currently works as a commentator in both English and Spanish for ESPN. Early ...

on the 1–1 draw, with Santos losing the tie 2–1. On 20 May 2012, he played the entire final match of Torneo Clausura 2011–12 against Rayados de Monterrey where Santos Laguna won the title after a 2–1 victory (3–2 in global). He scored his first goal with Santos Laguna on 13 March 2013 during the second leg versus Houston Dynamo in the

which Santos ended up winning 3–1 on aggregate score.

Later career

After leaving Santos Laguna in 2014, Crosas played for U. de G. and

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

, serving subsequent loan stints at

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

and

Tampico Madero Club Jaiba Brava, formerly known as Tampico Madero, is a Mexican professional association football, football club based in Tampico and Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, that plays in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football ...

. He retired in 2018.

International career

Between 2004 and 2005, Crosas was capped eight times by the Spain under-17 team. He was included in the Spain under-19 team in 2007, but pulled out through injury. He also represented the Catalonia team from the region of

in Spain. The team, which is organised by the

Catalonia Football Federation The Catalan Football Federation (, ; FCF) is the football association responsible for administering football in Catalonia. It was formed on 11 November 1900 as the Football Associació de Catalunya (). It was the first football association found ...

, is not affiliated to FIFA or UEFA, but regularly plays friendly matches against other nations. He made his debut coming on in the 73rd minute to replace

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He turned professional in 1999 and played on the European Tour and PGA Tour prior to joining LIV Golf in 2022. García has won 36 international tournaments as ...

during a 1–1 draw against the Basque Country and his second appearance against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Personal life

Crosas had always lived in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, until moving on loan to

in 2008. His best friend is former

teammate

Bojan Krkić Bojan Krkić Pérez (; sr-Cyrl, Бојан Кркић Перез, ; born 28 August 1990), also known as simply Bojan, is a Spanish former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward ...

. He has a

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

sponsorship deal with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. He is the younger cousin of

Albert Jorquera Albert Jorquera Fortià (born 3 March 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent the bulk of his career with Barcelona (ten years, including loans), during which time he was never more than second or ...

. As of 2014, he holds Mexican citizenship.

Career statistics

Honours

Lyon *

: 2007–08 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: 2007–08 Celtic *

: 2008–09 Santos Laguna *

Mexican Primera División Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

: Clausura 2012 Individual *Clydesdale Bank Goal of the Season: 2008–09, vs St. MirrenCrosas Goal vs St Mirren
YouTube

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crosas, Marc 1988 births Living people People from Baix Empordà Footballers from the Province of Girona Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Segunda División B players Tercera División players FC Barcelona C players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Ligue 1 players Olympique Lyonnais players Scottish Premier League players Celtic F.C. players Russian Premier League players FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod players Liga MX players Santos Laguna footballers Leones Negros UdeG footballers Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Spanish emigrants to Mexico Naturalized citizens of Mexico Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Russia Catalonia men's international footballers Cruz Azul footballers CD Tenerife players Club Jaiba Brava footballers 21st-century Spanish sportsmen