MARCA is a Spanish national daily sports newspaper owned by Unidad Editorial. The newspaper focuses primarily on football, in particular the day-to-day activities of Real Madrid. It has a daily readership of over 2,749,000, the highest in Spain for a daily newspaper, and more than half of sports readership.

Since February 2001 there has also been an associated 24-hour/day sports radio station, Radio Marca. In 2010 appeared the tv channel MARCA TV.

MARCA was founded on 21 December 1938, at the height of the Spanish Civil War, in nationalist-held San Sebastián. Its first editor was Manuel Fernández Cuesta.

On 25 November 1942 it ceased being published as a weekly publication and has been published as a daily ever since.

On December 21, 2007 MARCA hosted a gala event, featuring the leading Spanish sportsmen of the 20th century, to celebrate the newspaper's 70th anniversary.

The paper has been involved in an ongoing dispute with Sir Alex Ferguson since the summer of 2008 when he accused MARCA of being "...a vehicle to unsettle players" on behalf of Real Madrid - in reference to the alleged tapping-up of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lionel Andrés Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays in La Liga for FC Barcelona and is the captain of the Argentina national team, mainly as a forward.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year in 2009 he won both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 and 2011. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. Messi is the fourth football player to win three Ballons d'Or, after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten and the second player to win three consecutive Ballons d'Or, after Michel Platini. His playing style and small stature have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his "successor".

Messi has won five La Liga titles and three Champions League titles. In 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, in a 7–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. With two goals in the next round against A.C. Milan, he matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single UEFA Champions League/European Cup season. He also became the first player to top-score in four successive European Champion Clubs' Cup campaigns. He set the world record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.

Zinedine Zidane (French pronunciation: [zinedin zidan]) (born 23 June 1972) is a retired French footballer. Zidane was the leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, he returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.

In club level Zidane won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. He is one of only four players to have been FIFA World Player of the Year three or more times (Brazilian forward Marta is a five time winner (female award), while Brazilian striker Ronaldo (male award) and German striker Birgit Prinz (female award) have won three each). He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup.

Keylor Navas (born 15 December 1986 in San Isidro de El General) is a Costa Rican football goalkeeper who used to play for Saprissa. He is considered to be one of the most secure, quick and agile young goalkeepers in CONCACAF. With Saprissa he has already won 6 National championship as well as a 1 CONCACAF Champions Cup title.

Navas made his professional debut with Saprissa in a league match against Carmelita on 6 November 2005.

He was part of the Costa Rican national team that played in the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland, and was called to the Costa Rican national team for the first time in August 2006 to play a friendly tournament in Europe against Austria and Switzerland, before turning 20. He also played the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup, where Saprissa finished third behind São Paulo Futebol Clube and Liverpool F.C.. On June 16, Albacete Balompie made public their interest to negotiate his transfer with Saprissa. Finally on 7 July 2010, he was presented as the new goalkeeper for Albacete Balompie.

Juan Gabriel Castro (born June 20, 1972, in Los Mochis, Mexico) is a former Mexican professional baseball infielder. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Phillies, during his career. Castro batted and threw right-handed.

Castro was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991 and began his trek through the minor leagues with the Great Falls Dodgers in 1991. He followed that up with time spent with the Bakersfield Dodgers, San Antonio Missions and Albuquerque Dukes. He was selected to the Texas League All-Star Team while with San Antonio in 1994.

Castro made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 2, 1995 against the Montreal Expos as a defensive replacement at third base. He got his first at bat on September 11 and recorded his first career hit in his first career start, on the final day of the season, October 1, against the San Diego Padres.

Playing for the Dodgers was especially meaningful for Castro, as he idolized fellow Mexican and former Dodgers pitching ace Fernando Valenzuela as a child.