Pablo Marí

Spanish footballer (born 1993) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pablo Marí Villar (born 31 August 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal.

Full name Pablo Marí Villar[1]
Date of birth (1993-08-31) 31 August 1993 (age 32)[2]
Place of birth Almussafes, Spain
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3]
Quick facts Personal information, Full name ...
Pablo Marí
Personal information
Full name Pablo Marí Villar[1]
Date of birth (1993-08-31) 31 August 1993 (age 32)[2]
Place of birth Almussafes, Spain
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3]
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Al Hilal
Number 30
Youth career
Mallorca
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Mallorca B 69 (3)
2011–2012 Mallorca 2 (0)
2013–2016 Gimnàstic 83 (6)
2016–2019 Manchester City 0 (0)
2016–2017Girona (loan) 8 (0)
2017–2018NAC Breda (loan) 31 (3)
2018–2019Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 37 (2)
2019–2020 Flamengo 22 (2)
2020Arsenal (loan) 2 (0)
2020–2023 Arsenal 12 (0)
2022Udinese (loan) 15 (2)
2022–2023Monza (loan) 30 (1)
2023–2025 Monza 53 (0)
2025–2026 Fiorentina 24 (0)
2026– Al Hilal 5 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 January 2026
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Marí graduated from Mallorca's youth academy and played for various clubs throughout his career, in Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, England and Italy. He won the Copa Libertadores and Série A in 2019 with Flamengo, and was included in the Série A Team of the Year that year.

Career

Mallorca

Born in Almussafes, Valencian Community,[4] Marí was a product of RCD Mallorca's youth system. He made his debut as a senior with the reserves at the age of just 17, going on to spend several seasons in the third division.[citation needed]

Marí made his first appearance with the first team on 7 December 2011, playing 30 minutes in a 2–2 draw against Granada CF after coming off the bench for fellow youth graduate Pedro Bigas.[5] On 5 May 2012 he played his second La Liga game, again acting as a substitute in a 1–0 home win over Levante UD.[6]

Marí continued to be almost exclusively associated with the B-side until the end of his spell in the Balearic Islands.[citation needed]

Gimnàstic

On 2 September 2013, Marí signed a contract with Gimnàstic de Tarragona also in the third level.[7] He made his debut for the Catalans on 12 October, starting and conceding a penalty in a 2–2 draw at CD Olímpic de Xàtiva.[8]

Marí scored his first goal for Nàstic on 1 December 2013, the winner in a 2–1 home victory against Levante UD B.[9] On 25 June 2015, after achieving promotion to Segunda División, he signed a new three-year deal with the club.[4]

Marí scored his first professional goal on 30 August 2015, netting his team's first in a 2–1 away defeat of CD Tenerife.[10]

Manchester City

On 15 August 2016, Marí was transferred to Premier League side Manchester City.[11] A day later, he was loaned to Girona FC in a season-long deal.[12]

In the following two campaigns, still owned by City, Marí played with NAC Breda (Dutch Eredivisie, where he was team captain)[13][14] and Deportivo de La Coruña (Spanish second tier).[15]

Flamengo

On 11 July 2019, Marí signed with Flamengo on a contract through 2022,[16] for an approximate fee of €1.3 million (or R$5.5 million).[17] He became the third Spanish player for the Brazilian club, after goalkeeper Talladas [es] in the late 1930s and forward José Ufarte in the 1960s.[18] He made his debut as a starter on 28 July in a Série A match against Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas at the Maracanã Stadium, a 3–2 win;[19] he quickly established himself in the first team, with manager Jorge Jesus pairing him with Rodrigo Caio.[20]

Marí scored his first goal for the Mengão on 25 August 2019 with a volley inside the box in a 3–0 away victory over Ceará Sporting Club.[21] His second in the league came on 7 September, this time with a header against Avaí FC in a 3–0 win at Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha.[22] In November, he became the first Spaniard to win the Copa Libertadores, the major South American club competition.[23] Marí made headlines for wearing the number 24 in the Copa Libertadores, as the number is subject to a homophobic taboo in Brazil.[24][25][26]

Arsenal

On 29 January 2020, Marí joined English Premier League club Arsenal on loan until the end of the season, with an option for Arsenal to make the deal permanent in the summer.[27] Arsenal's technical director Edu said: "Pablo is an experienced player who will provide us with additional defensive quality. We have been monitoring Pablo’s career for a while and we are very pleased to have reached agreement with Flamengo for him to join us initially until the end of our season."[28] Marí made two appearances for Arsenal, a 2–0 FA Cup win at Portsmouth and a 1–0 Premier League win at home to West Ham, before the season was suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic.[citation needed]

On 17 June 2020, Marí was injured playing in a 3–0 defeat at Manchester City, in the first game of the league restart. Arsenal confirmed post-match he would miss the remainder of the season with a "significant" ankle injury.[29] Despite this injury, Arsenal announced on 24 June that Marí would join the club permanently for an undisclosed fee on 1 July, upon the opening of the summer transfer window.[30]

On 3 December 2020, Marí scored his first goal for Arsenal in a 4–1 home win over Rapid Wien in the UEFA Europa League.[31] Mari only made 28 appearances for the club.[32]

Mari appeared in the Amazon Original sports docuseries All or Nothing: Arsenal, which documented the club activities during the 2021–22 season.

Loans to Udinese and Monza

On 20 January 2022, Marí joined Serie A club Udinese on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[33]

On 11 August, he was loaned to newly promoted Serie A side Monza.[34] Marì made his debut for Monza on 14 August, as a starter in a 2–1 Serie A defeat to Torino.[35]

Monza

On 4 May 2023, Monza signed Marí on a permanent deal after they activated his release clause after they secured safety following their 1–1 draw at home to Roma.[36][37]

Fiorentina

On 28 January 2025, Marí signed for fellow Italian club Fiorentina on a permanent deal. His arrival meant that he reunited with his former manager at Monza Raffaele Palladino.[38]

Al Hilal

On 10 January 2026, Marí joined Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, on a six-months contract with an option to extend.[39]

Personal life

Marí and his wife Veronica Chacon have a son, Pablo Jr. (b. 2018).[40]

Stabbing

On 27 October 2022, Marí was stabbed and injured at a Carrefour supermarket in Assago, Metropolitan City of Milan. He was taken to hospital conscious and not in a serious condition. Monza's CEO Adriano Galliani stated: "His life is not in danger, he should recover quickly". A man was killed during the attack and four others were injured. The perpetrator was a man with mental health problems.[41][42]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 February 2026[43][44]
More information Club, Season ...
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Mallorca B 2010–11 Segunda División B 191191
2011–12 Segunda División B 221221
2012–13 Segunda División B 281281
Total 69300000000693
Mallorca 2011–12 La Liga 200020
2012–13 La Liga 000000
Total 200000000020
Gimnàstic 2013–14 Segunda División B 232306[c]0322
2014–15 Segunda División B 353202[c]0393
2015–16 Segunda División 25100251
Total 83650000080966
Manchester City 2016–17 Premier League 00
2017–18 Premier League 00
2018–19 Premier League 00
Total 000000000000
Girona (loan) 2016–17 Segunda División 801090
NAC Breda (loan) 2017–18 Eredivisie 31310323
Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 2018–19 Segunda División 372001[d]0382
Flamengo 2019 Série A 222006[e]12[f]0303
Arsenal (loan) 2019–20 Premier League 20100030
Arsenal 2020–21 Premier League 10010005[g]1161
2021–22 Premier League 20001030
Arsenal total 14020105100221
Udinese (loan) 2021–22 Serie A 15200152
Monza (loan) 2022–23 Serie A 30110311
Monza 2023–24 Serie A 34010350
2024–25 Serie A 19020210
Monza total 83140000000871
Fiorentina 2024–25 Serie A 13000130
2025–26 Serie A 1105[h]0160
Total 2400050290
Al Hilal 2025–26 Saudi Pro League 50002[i]070
Career total 393191301018211043521
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Honours

References

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