Madrid - Spanish
football champions
Barcelona announced on Saturday that veteran defender Rafa Marquez has left the club "by mutual consent."
Marquez, 31, is poised to join
New York Red Bulls, though this has still not been officially confirmed by the US club.
Marquez is the fourth player to leave Barca this summer, after fellow veteran Thierry Henry, who has also joined Red Bulls, Dmitro Chigrinskiy, who has returned to Shakhtar Donetsk, and Yaya Toure, who was bought by Manchester City.
Marquez, 31, joined Barca in 2003 from AS Monaco and was the mainstay of their
defence until 2008, helping the Catalans to win two Ligas and one Champions League. In 2008, however, he lost his place to youngster Gerard Pique and since then has spent more time on the subs' bench than on the field.
Marquez captained
Mexico at the World Cup, in which they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Argentina.
