Marcos Llorente is 31 years old—this summer, he reached the pinnacle of world soccer with Spain when he became a world champion. Now he has announced the end of his career with the national team.
Marcos Llorente has played in 27 international matches—not an overly impressive number, but his titles speak for themselves. In 2023, he won the Nations League with La Furia Roja, and then reached the pinnacle this summer in North America when Spain became World Champions. The fullback played in three World Cup matches: the opener, a disappointing scoreless draw against World Cup debutant Cape Verde; the third group stage match against Uruguay (1–0); and as a substitute in the semifinal against France (2–0).
Now he has announced the end of his national team career. “After thinking long and hard about it, I’ve decided to end my time with the national team,” he wrote on Instagram, explaining: “I realize that I’m still young and that, if I continue to perform well, I might still have years ahead of me in this jersey. I know that many of you won’t understand this, and certainly, looking at it from the outside, I wouldn’t have understood it either, but it’s a personal decision that I’ve thought through very carefully and that, above all, is very close to my heart.”
“I had already made this decision”
He also asked his own fans for understanding and revealed that this decision had been brewing inside him for some time. “Regardless of whether I had gone to the World Cup or not, or whether we had won or not—I had already made this decision. It was an honor to represent my country and be part of this story.”
The Spanish national team thanked Llorente via the messaging app X “for every sprint, every battle, and every moment” he shared with La Furia Roja. “A World Champion says goodbye to the place that will always be his home. This jersey is part of your history, and you will always be part of ours.”
Llorente can now focus fully on his career with Atlético Madrid, where he has played since the summer of 2019 and for whom he has already made 277 appearances (33 goals).
