Marc Roca Junqué (born 26 November 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Real Betis.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marc Roca Junqué[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 November 1996[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Vilafranca, Spain[2] | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Betis | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2008 | Atlètic Vilafranca | ||
| 2008–2015 | Espanyol | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Espanyol B | 51 | (6) |
| 2016–2020 | Espanyol | 105 | (3) |
| 2020–2022 | Bayern Munich | 15 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Leeds United | 32 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | → Betis (loan) | 26 | (2) |
| 2024– | Betis | ||
| International career | |||
| 2015 | Spain U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Spain U21 | 7 | (2) |
| 2016 | Catalonia | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 06:43, 26 May 2024 (UTC) | |||
He started his career at Espanyol, appearing in 121 competitive matches and four La Liga seasons. In October 2020, he signed with Bayern Munich.
Roca won the 2019 European Under-21 Championship with Spain.
Club career
Espanyol
Born in Vilafranca del Penedès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Roca joined RCD Espanyol's youth setup in 2008, aged 11.[3] On 24 August 2014, he made his senior debut with the reserves, starting in a 2–2 Segunda División B home draw against Lleida Esportiu.[4]
Roca scored his first senior goal on 17 January 2015, his team's second in a 2–3 home loss to UE Olot.[5] On 4 August, he renewed his contract until 2017.[6]
On 26 August 2016, Roca made his first-team – and La Liga – debut, starting in a 2–2 home draw against Málaga CF.[7] On 11 November, he agreed to an extension until 2022 and was permanently promoted to the main squad the following season.[8]
Roca scored his first goal in the top flight on 21 April 2019, in a 2–2 draw at Levante UD.[9] He played 44 matches across all competitions in the 2019–20 campaign, but the club was relegated to Segunda División for the first time in 26 years.[10]
Bayern Munich
On 4 October 2020, Roca signed for FC Bayern Munich on a five-year contract.[11] He made his official debut 11 days later, in a 3–0 defeat of amateurs 1. FC Düren in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.[12][13] He appeared in his first Bundesliga match later that month, coming on as an injury-time substitute for Serge Gnabry in the 2–1 away victory over 1. FC Köln.[14]
Roca played his first-ever game in the UEFA Champions League on 25 November 2020, starting and being sent off for two bookable offences midway through the second half on an eventual 3–1 group stage win against FC Red Bull Salzburg.[15] He totalled only 11 appearances in his first season.[16]
Roca featured slightly more in 2021–22 as his team won the league again, but was once again a fringe first-team player.[17]
Leeds United
On 17 June 2022, Leeds United announced that Roca would join the club on 1 July after an agreement was reached with Bayern Munich; he agreed to a four-year contract for a reported €12,000,000 fee that could eventually rise on add-ons.[18][19] He made his Premier League debut on 6 August, starting in a 2–1 home victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.[20] He scored his first goal one month later, in the 5–2 away defeat to Brentford.[21]
Betis
Roca returned to Spain in the summer of 2023, on a season-long loan at Real Betis.[22] He scored his first goal on 1 October, through a header in a 3–0 win over Valencia CF.[23] His third came one month later, in the 12–1 away rout of amateurs CD Hernán Cortés in the opening round of the Copa del Rey.[24]
On 28 June 2024, Roca agreed to a permanent deal.[25]
International career
On 28 December 2016, Roca made his debut for the Catalonia autonomous team, starting in a 3–3 draw against Tunisia (4–2 penalty loss).[26] He was named in Spain's under-21 squad for the 2019 UEFA European Championship, starting the final three games of the tournament for the eventual winners including a 4–1 semi-final victory over France in which he scored.[27][28]
Career statistics
- As of match played 25 May 2024[29]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Espanyol B | 2014–15 | Segunda División B | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Segunda División B | 34 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||||
| 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 51 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 51 | 6 | ||||||
| Espanyol | 2016–17 | La Liga | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 40 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | La Liga | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 0 | — | 44 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | Segunda División | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 105 | 3 | 8 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 121 | 3 | ||||
| Bayern Munich | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||
| Leeds United | 2022–23 | Premier League | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 1 | ||
| Betis (loan) | 2023–24 | La Liga | 26 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 8[f] | 1 | — | 37 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 229 | 12 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 269 | 14 | ||
Honours
Espanyol
Bayern Munich
Spain U21