Pablo MarÃÂ Villar (born 31 August 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal.
Maràgraduated from Mallorca's youth academy and played for various clubs throughout his career, in Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, England and Italy. He won the Copa Libertadores and Série A in 2019 with Flamengo, and was included in the Série A Team of the Year that year.
Born in Almussafes, Valencian Community, MarÃÂ was a product of RCD Mallorca's youth system. He made his debut as a senior with the reserves at the age of just 17, going on to spend several seasons in the third division.
Maràmade his first appearance with the first team on 7 December 2011, playing 30 minutes in a 2âÂÂ2 draw against Granada CF after coming off the bench for fellow youth graduate Pedro Bigas. On 5 May 2012 he played his second La Liga game, again acting as a substitute in a 1âÂÂ0 home win over Levante UD.
MarÃÂ continued to be almost exclusively associated with the B-side until the end of his spell in the Balearic Islands.
On 2 September 2013, Maràsigned a contract with Gimnàstic de Tarragona also in the third level. He made his debut for the Catalans on 12 October, starting and conceding a penalty in a 2âÂÂ2 draw at CD OlÃÂmpic de Xàtiva.
Maràscored his first goal for Nàstic on 1 December 2013, the winner in a 2âÂÂ1 home victory against Levante UD B. On 25 June 2015, after achieving promotion to Segunda División, he signed a new three-year deal with the club.
Maràscored his first professional goal on 30 August 2015, netting his team's first in a 2âÂÂ1 away defeat of CD Tenerife.
On 15 August 2016, MarÃÂ was transferred to Premier League side Manchester City. A day later, he was loaned to Girona FC in a season-long deal.
In the following two campaigns, still owned by City, Maràplayed with NAC Breda (Dutch Eredivisie, where he was team captain) and Deportivo de La Coruña (Spanish second tier).
On 11 July 2019, Maràsigned with Flamengo on a contract through 2022, for an approximate fee of â¬1.3 million (or R$5.5 million). He became the third Spanish player for the Brazilian club, after goalkeeper in the late 1930s and forward José Ufarte in the 1960s. He made his debut as a starter on 28 July in a Série A match against Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas at the Maracanã Stadium, a 3âÂÂ2 win; he quickly established himself in the first team, with manager Jorge Jesus pairing him with Rodrigo Caio.
Maràscored his first goal for the Mengão on 25 August 2019 with a volley inside the box in a 3âÂÂ0 away victory over Ceará Sporting Club. His second in the league came on 7 September, this time with a header against AvaàFC in a 3âÂÂ0 win at Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha. In November, he became the first Spaniard to win the Copa Libertadores, the major South American club competition. Maràmade headlines for wearing the number 24 in the Copa Libertadores, as the number is subject to a homophobic taboo in Brazil.
On 29 January 2020, Maràjoined English Premier League club Arsenal on loan until the end of the season, with an option for Arsenal to make the deal permanent in the summer. Arsenal's technical director Edu said: "Pablo is an experienced player who will provide us with additional defensive quality. We have been monitoring PabloâÂÂs career for a while and we are very pleased to have reached agreement with Flamengo for him to join us initially until the end of our season." Maràmade two appearances for Arsenal, a 2âÂÂ0 FA Cup win at Portsmouth and a 1âÂÂ0 Premier League win at home to West Ham, before the season was suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic.
On 17 June 2020, Maràwas injured playing in a 3âÂÂ0 defeat at Manchester City, in the first game of the league restart. Arsenal confirmed post-match he would miss the remainder of the season with a "significant" ankle injury. Despite this injury, Arsenal announced on 24 June that Maràwould join the club permanently for an undisclosed fee on 1 July, upon the opening of the summer transfer window.
On 3 December 2020, Maràscored his first goal for Arsenal in a 4âÂÂ1 home win over Rapid Wien in the UEFA Europa League. Mari only made 28 appearances for the club.
Mari appeared in the Amazon Original sports docuseries ', which documented the club activities during the 2021âÂÂ22 season.
On 20 January 2022, Maràjoined Serie A club Udinese on loan until the end of the 2021âÂÂ22 season.
On 11 August, he was loaned to newly promoted Serie A side Monza. Marì made his debut for Monza on 14 August, as a starter in a 2âÂÂ1 Serie A defeat to Torino.
On 4 May 2023, Monza signed Maràon a permanent deal after they activated his release clause after they secured safety following their 1âÂÂ1 draw at home to Roma.
On 28 January 2025, MarÃÂ signed for fellow Italian club Fiorentina on a permanent deal. His arrival meant that he reunited with his former manager at Monza Raffaele Palladino.
On 10 January 2026, MarÃÂ joined Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, on a six-months contract with an option to extend.
MarÃÂ and his wife Veronica Chacon have a son, Pablo Jr. (b. 2018).
On 27 October 2022, MarÃÂ was stabbed and injured at a Carrefour supermarket in Assago, Metropolitan City of Milan. He was taken to hospital conscious and not in a serious condition. Monza's CEO Adriano Galliani stated: "His life is not in danger, he should recover quickly". A man was killed during the attack and four others were injured. The perpetrator was a man with mental health problems.
Flamengo
Arsenal
Individual