La Liga Facts

We would like to take a moment to dedicate our thoughts and prayers to Carlos Martins and his family, especially little Gustavo.

Carlos Martins, midfielder for Granada CF, was on international duty with Portugal this past week and played the final six minutes against Serbia in their Euro play-off match. In the hours shortly before the match, Martins received the terrible news that his 3 year old son, Gustavo, had been diagnosed with thrombocytopenia, a serious medical condition that requires a bone marrow transplant to save his life.

Please visit this link for more information, to show your support and to spread the word. Joining the Bone Marrow Registry is another way you can help the thousands of people searching for a life-saving match.

Martins has received an outpouring of support from the footballing world, especially from his teammates on the Portuguese National Team and Granada CF. Martins’ captain on the Portuguese National Team, Cristiano Ronaldo, took to Twitter to spread the message to his 5 million followers, urging them to visit several testing sites set up in Portugal. Martins’ club captain, Manuel Lucena, let Martins know the team is behind him: “All the players feel like one of your family. We hope that a donor is found quickly to save [Gustavo’s] life.”

Martins has yet to decide if he will play with Granada CF this weekend, but the club has made it clear that: “The person is above the player. The club is at his disposal for whatever he needs. He has our support and any action we can take to help, we will be there, at the side of Carlos and his family.”