Marcos Alonso Pena, dad of former Chelsea star, dies aged 63

Ex-Barcelona star and dad to former Chelsea full-back Marcos Alonso has died at the age of 63. 

News was confirmed early on Thursday in Spain with Marcos Alonso Pena passing away following a ‘long illness’.

Barcelona, where he played for five years, offered their ‘deepest condolences’ before president Joan Laporta called for a minute of silence during a press briefing. 

Barcelona tweeted: ‘FC Barcelona would like to express its deepest condolences for the passing of former Barça player and father of a first-team player Marcos Alonso Peña.

‘All of our strength to Marcos Alonso and his entire family. Rest in peace.’

Marcos Alonso Pena (left), father of Marcos Alonso (right), has died at the age of 63

One of his son’s few family posts on Instagram showed a match as a kid played in the garden

Atletico Madrid, where he spent three years as a player and one more as a manager, wrote in tribute: ‘The Red & White family is mourning for the death of Marcos Alonso Peña.

‘We would like to convey our most sincere condolences to the family. May he rest in peace.’

Rayo Vallecano, another of his former clubs, added: ‘From Rayo Vallecano, we want to convey our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Marcos Alonso Pena.

‘He was a former coach of the Club, who passed away at the age of 63.’

Alonso Pena started out playing for Racing Santander in the 1970s before heading for the Spanish capital to sign for Atletico. 

Latterly, he would go on to represent Barcelona, scoring 28 goals across 124 appearances.  

During a media briefing on Thursday, Barcelona asked reporters to observe a minute silence

Footage on BarcaTV showed reporters gathering in silence in front of president Joan Laporta

From there he went back to Atletico for a spell, as well as returning to Racing Santander, before he elected to retire in 1991 with 22 international caps for Spain also on his resume. 

The winger then made the decision to head into management. 

His management era began in 1995 with Rayo Vallecano, before he went on to have spells in charge of Racing Santander, Sevilla, Atlético Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Real Valladolid, Málaga and lastly, Granada 74.

His son, also Marcos Alonso, has followed in his footsteps and is now playing for Barcelona. 

He rarely shared photos of his family on social media but did previously pay homage to his dad with some images when he was young having a kick-a-bout in the garden. 

Alonso played for a number of clubs in Spain, including Atletico Madrid and Barcelona