Luis Marquez Passes Away at 51: Former Real Betis Star Succumbs to Cancer, Tributes Pour In

Luis Mar­quez, a for­mer La Liga foot­baller, passed away this morn­ing at the young age of 51 due to cancer.

Mar­quez played for 11 years in the Real Betis first team, from 1989 to 2000, before briefly stints at Real Val­ladol­id, Pon­teve­dra and Real Jaén.

He was known for his phys­i­cal and tech­ni­cal resem­blance to Ger­man mid­field­er Bernd and was hailed as ‘the best play­er in the cup-win­ning youth team.’

Mar­quez helped Betis return to the top league of Span­ish foot­ball and was a reg­u­lar starter in the UEFA Cup through­out the 1990s. He scored a spec­tac­u­lar vol­ley from a cor­ner dur­ing the 1994/95 sea­son against Atléti­co de Madrid, which is con­sid­ered by many to be the best goal at the Esta­dio Ben­i­to Villamarín.

In total, Mar­quez played 202 times for Real Betis and scored 15 goals. He was an icon­ic play­er in Los Verdi­blan­cos’ rich his­to­ry, and trib­utes poured in from fans and col­leagues alike.

Real Betis expressed their sad­ness by say­ing, “It is very sad news for the whole Los Verdi­blan­cos fam­i­ly. For­mer play­er Luis Mar­quez passed away this morn­ing. We send all our love and sup­port to his fam­i­ly. Rest in peace.”

Real Madrid also extend­ed their heart­felt con­do­lences to Mar­quez’s fam­i­ly, loved ones and all the clubs he played for. Liv­er­pool goal­keep­er Adri­an, who start­ed his career with Betis, also tweet­ed his condolences.

One user com­ment­ed, “With immense pain I write what I nev­er want­ed and was so afraid of. Luis Mar­quez, who scored one of the great­est goals ever scored by a @RealBetis play­er, died in Sevil­la on a pas­sion­ate Sat­ur­day against Atleti­co Madrid in 1995.”

Mar­quez’s friend remem­bered him as a great per­son with a big heart, say­ing, “Rest in peace dear Luis Mar­quez. Help us out there as only you know. There are police in heaven.”