Rafael Márquez trains with Mexico, unsponsored
In one of his first training sessions with the Mexican team, Rafael Márquez wore a different uniform than the others: his shirt did not have any of the sponsors of the team. On the figure of the defender of 39 years weighs an accusation of the Department of the Treasury of the United States for an alleged link to a network of drug traffickers.
Since last week, Rafael Márquez has trained on the grounds of the Mexican Football Federation. This Thursday the local media was allowed to see the practice. There, they could witness that Márquez was the only one with an “pure” shirt, meaning that it was absent from the Coca-Cola, Citibanamex and Movistar logos.
When the name of Rafael Márquez appeared on the list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury, the player received the support of the Mexican Football Federation, but he retired for 80 days from his club, the Atlas. Despite this, the defender trained with the same clothing as his teammates. However, the companies Nike and P & G broke relations of direct sponsoring with Rafa. A few days ago, the president of Atlas, Gustavo Guzmán, explained to the Mexican press that Rafael Márquez had no problems with the Tri's business partners. "There were consultations with sponsors, with lawyers in the United States," he said and emphasized "Rafa has no impediment to go to Russia, let alone with the sport issue." The Mexican team will play next May 28 against Wales in Pasadena, California, but Márquez must stay in Mexico.
It is known that Rafa Marquez is one of the best defenders in the history of FC Barcelona in the 21st century. He is considered as a key contributor to 12 titles for the club. “I realized that I’d left to early. In the moment I thought that it was a good idea to go to the USA and ease down a little bit. But when I was there I wanted and could have played at a more competitive level. The truth is I regret it,” the Mexican player said in a recent interview. Now that he’s living a kind of hell due to the US sanctions, he must be thinking a lot in the time spent in Barcelona. “The best memories of my career. I had the most beautiful years in a wonderful city which always treated me with a lot of affection. They were seven incredible years at one of the most important institutions in the world.”
And as the player dreams of even acting as manager for the Spanish club the truth is that uncertainty still surrounds him. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Rafa Marquez, along with 20 other people, for bonds with a Mexican drug trafficking organization with ties to a pair of major cartels. The Treasury alleged that Marquez and a popular Mexican singer named Julion Alvarez “have acted as front persons” for an organization headed by Raul Flores Hernandez.