 Ruiz withMexico in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marcel Alejandro Ruiz Suárez | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-10-26)26 October 2000 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Toluca | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2012 | Toluca Premier | ||
| 2012–2017 | Querétaro | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | Querétaro | 49 | (6) |
| 2020–2022 | Tijuana | 49 | (2) |
| 2022– | Toluca | 116 | (12) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Mexico U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Mexico U23 | 7 | (0) |
| 2023– | Mexico | 16 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 7 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 January 2026 | |||
Marcel Alejandro Ruiz Suárez (born 26 October 2000) is a Mexican professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forLiga MX clubToluca and theMexico national team.
Ruiz was born inMérida, Yucatán, to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother.[1] He moved with his family toQuerétaro, Querétaro at the age of four. There, he began playing football at a young age and joined a local soccer school named River Plate, inspired by theArgentine club of the same name. His mother, a former gymnast, encouraged his early involvement in sports, enrolling him inkarate andtennis before he began focusing more seriously on football.[2] The academy would later become affiliated withToluca Premier. With Toluca, Ruiz would compete in theDanone Nations Cup and theLiga Premier de México.[3]
His early performances eventually led to his recruitment into the youth system ofQuerétaro.
A product of the youthQuerétaro team, Ruiz would make his senior debut inLiga MX on 21 July 2018 againstAtlas, coming in at the 86th minute forErbín Trejo, finishing the game in a 0–0 tie. On 22 August 2018, he would score his first goal for the team, winning the game againstClub Universidad Nacional 1–0, becoming the youngest scorer of theseason at the age of 17.[4] On 31 August 2018, he contributed two assists forCamilo Sanvezzo to score the first two goals againstMorelia, winning 4–1.[5]
In July 2020, Ruiz signed withClub Tijuana after the club’s owners,Grupo Caliente, sold Querétaro and transferred several of that team’s players – including the 19-year-old Ruiz – to Tijuana.[6][7] Ruiz made his debut for Tijuana in theApertura 2020 and gradually became a regular squad member. Under new Tijuana coachPablo Guede, Ruiz’s role evolved from theattacking midfielder position he had played at Querétaro to a deeper playmaking role in central midfield. Often paired with fellow ex-Querétaro teammateJordi Cortizo, he operated as a deep-lying midfielder with responsibilities in building up attacks and distributing the ball, while also contributing defensively. Guede’s more progressive system relied on Ruiz’s vision and press-resistant passing to link play between defense and attack.[8]
Ruiz' impact with Tijuana was modest. Over two years with Xolos, he made 50 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals and providing two assists. Notably, he scored his first goal for Tijuana on 25 February 2022, opening the scoring with a deflected shot in a 2–0 victory over reigning championsAtlas – a goal that also marked his first inLiga MX as a Xolos player.[9] Despite some opportunities in the starting lineup, Ruiz’s overall contributions remained limited, and he did not replicate the prolific form of his early Querétaro days.[10] By theClausura 2021, he was struggling to secure playing time, featuring only 46 minutes in the first three matches, and he acknowledged the need to improve to earn a spot in the starting XI under coach Guede.[11]
In June 2022, Ruiz joinedToluca in an exchange that sawAlexis Canelo join Tijuana.[12] CoachIgnacio Ambríz had specifically requested Ruiz as part of an ambitious squad rebuild for theApertura 2022, seeing the young midfielder as a key reinforcement.[13] The transfer was viewed as a fresh start for Ruiz after a challenging spell in Tijuana, and it indeed preceded a resurgence in his form with Toluca in subsequent seasons.[10]
Ruiz helped Toluca win theClausura 2025 championship after defeatingAmérica in thefinals with an aggregate score of 2–0, their first title in 15 years.[14] During theApertura 2025 season, Ruíz was designated as Toluca’s vice-captain, regularly assuming the armband in matches when senior players such asAlexis Vega andPaulinho were not on the field.[15]
Ruiz was called up byDiego Ramírez to theunder-20 team to participate in a training camp ahead of the2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and matches againstBrazil andJapan.[16] However, he did not make thefinal tournament squad, and ultimately earned only two caps at the under-20 level.
Ruiz was called up byJaime Lozano to participate with theunder-22 team at the2019 Toulon Tournament,[17] where Mexico finished in third.[18] He was called up by Lozano again to participate at the2019 Pan American Games,[19] with Mexico winning the third-place match.[20]
In March 2023, Ruiz was called up by managerDiego Cocca for the2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League,[21] and made hissenior national team debut on 23 March 2023, in a 2–0 victory againstSuriname.
Prior to that first senior call‑up, a rumor circulated widely in Guatemalan sports outlets during March 2022 suggesting that Ruiz possessed Guatemalan ancestry and was being evaluated by coachLuis Fernando Tena for a potential switch of allegiance.[22][23] TheNational Football Federation of Guatemala issued a brief clarification that no eligibility process had been initiated, and Ruiz himself denied the story in multiple interviews, noting that his family background is Mexican with Cuban roots.[24]
Ruíz has citedAndrés Iniesta and theBarcelona side ofPep Guardiola as formative influences, describing theirtiki-taka era of 2008–2012, particularly the2010–11 team, as "the best team in history." This admiration for Barcelona’s possession-based style has shaped his own preference for composure, short passing, and spatial awareness in midfield.[2]
Ruíz is most often deployed as acentral ordefensive midfielder[25] and is noted for combining defensive solidity with precise distribution and tactical intelligence.[26] This balance allows him to perform effectively in both holding andbox‑to‑box roles, and his consistent execution and positional awareness have earned him a reputation as one of the most reliable midfielders inLiga MX. Defensively, Ruíz excels at reading the game and interrupting opposition attacks. He ranks among the league’s leaders in duels won per 90 minutes and shields the back line particularly well when Toluca operate with a double pivot.[27] In possession he favors simple, progressive combinations and usually completes more than 85% of roughly 50 passes per match.[28] He can also launch transitions with line‑breaking balls or wide switches under pressure. Observers often refer to him as a “midfield engine,” praising his composure, spatial awareness, and ability to control tempo from deeper areas.[29][30] While not a prolific goal‑scorer, Ruíz makes a significant creative contribution, displaying sharp timing and vision in the final third and being comfortable finding runners from deep and exploiting wide spaces.[31]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Querétaro | 2018–19 | Liga MX | 28 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 49 | 6 | 11 | 0 | — | — | 60 | 6 | ||||
| Tijuana | 2019–20 | Liga MX | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||||
| 2021–22 | 26 | 2 | — | — | — | 26 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 49 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 50 | 2 | ||||
| Toluca | 2022–23 | Liga MX | 40 | 5 | — | — | — | 40 | 5 | |||
| 2023–24 | 33 | 2 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 4[b] | 2 | 39 | 4 | |||
| 2024–25 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 73 | 7 | — | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 79 | 9 | |||
| Career total | 171 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 189 | 17 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 | |
Toluca
Mexico U23
Mexico
Individual
 | ||
