Mario Suárez Mata made his first-team debut for Atlético de Madrid on 6 November 2005, playing four minutes of a goalless draw away to Sevilla. Born in Alcobendas, near Madrid, on 24 February 1987, the defensive midfielder played for eleven clubs in four countries over an 18-year professional career. With Atlético he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Europa League, two UEFA Super Cups and the Spanish Super Cup, and he earned three caps for the Spain national team.
Atlético de Madrid academy
He came through the Atlético youth system between 1999 and 2004 and moved up to Atlético de Madrid B in 2004-05, playing five matches for the reserves across that season and the next. His top-flight debut came in Seville in November 2005, and he ended that campaign with six competitive appearances for the first team. The club then decided to send him out on loan.
Loans and Mallorca
In August 2006 he joined Real Valladolid on loan, scoring twice in 15 matches as the club won the 2007 Spanish second division title and returned to the top flight. He spent 2007-08 on loan at Celta de Vigo, with 26 appearances and two goals. In the summer of 2008 Atlético sold him to RCD Mallorca on a four-year deal that included a buy-back option. He played two seasons on the island, making 70 appearances and scoring six goals, before the Madrid club exercised that option in 2010.
Five seasons and six trophies at Atlético
His second spell at Atlético, from 2010 to 2015, was the longest and most successful of his career: 180 matches and five goals. Shortly after his return, in August 2010, the team beat Inter Milan to win the UEFA Super Cup. The Europa League followed in 2012 with a 3-0 win over Athletic Club in the Bucharest final, and that summer brought a second Super Cup, against Chelsea. Under Diego Simeone, Atlético won the 2013 Copa del Rey against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu and, a year later, the 2013-14 La Liga title. That season the side also reached the 2014 Champions League final, which they lost to Real Madrid. In August 2014 he added the Spanish Super Cup.
Fiorentina, Watford and Valencia
On 24 July 2015 he signed for Fiorentina. In Italy he made 13 competitive appearances and scored once, against Frosinone on 1 November 2015. On 30 January 2016 he swapped Serie A for the Premier League, joining Watford, for whom he played 17 matches. In August 2016 he returned to Spain on loan at Valencia CF with an option to buy. He played 24 matches and scored three goals at Mestalla, but the club did not take up the option and he went back to England in 2017.
China and Rayo Vallecano
In July 2017 he moved to the Chinese Super League with Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng, where he played 30 matches and scored twice. In January 2019 he returned to Madrid to sign for Rayo Vallecano, his last club. At Vallecas he made 110 appearances and scored 12 goals, and in 2020-21 he was part of the squad that won promotion to La Liga. He left Rayo in the summer of 2023 and announced his retirement from professional football later that year, after 18 seasons, with a club career record of 496 matches and 33 goals.
Spain national team
He played at every youth level for Spain, winning 38 caps in total. He made his under-17 debut on 27 March 2004 against the Czech Republic and finished runner-up at that year's European Under-17 Championship. With the under-19s he won the 2006 European Championship. At the 2007 Under-20 World Cup in Canada he scored a penalty against Zambia in a 2-1 win, and with the under-21s he played at the 2009 European Championship, where Spain went out in the group stage. His senior debut came on 6 February 2013 in Doha, in a friendly against Uruguay that Spain won 3-1, when he replaced Santi Cazorla in the 70th minute. He won three senior caps between 2013 and 2015.
