Alberto Puig shares why Honda had ‘no hard feelings’ with Marc Marquez for leaving to ride a Ducati

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Marc Marquez’s exit from Honda for the 2024 MotoGP season was one of the biggest breakups in MotoGP history. Team boss Alberto Puig has shared why he had ‘no hard feelings’ towards the Spaniard.

Honda enjoyed one of the most successful periods of their storied history in the premier class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing during Marc Marquez’s opening years with the factory team.

No one expected Marquez to be as dominant as he was during his first season in MotoGP. He would go on to win six titles in his first seven years as a premier class rider.

However, the 32-year-old also suffered the worst period of his career with the team.

Beginning in 2020, Marquez underwent countless surgeries for an injury that he sustained at the opening round of the season that year, and he never looked the same atop Honda machinery after it.

• READ MORE: Luigi Dall’Igna ‘smiled’ when he was told one thing about Marc Marquez’s Honda contract

Honda boss Alberto Puig reveals why there were ‘no hard feelings’ after Marc Marquez left for Ducati

During a documentary from TNT Sports that recounted Marquez’s rise from the struggles he experienced at the start of the current decade, Alberto Puig highlighted how difficult he found the period.

He said, “It was a real nightmare for him. I mean, this guy is a champion, he’s a winner, and he could not do it.

“I mean, he could think, and he could see the win, but he could not do it because he could not physically and let’s say from a technical point of view, he could not do it.”

Puig then went on to reveal the sentiments of Honda staff following Marquez’s emotional announcement that he would be leaving the team for a Ducati bike at Gresini in the following season.

Puig added, “Frankly speaking, when Marc left, there were no hard feelings from his side but nor from Honda.

“At that time, he believed he had to go in another direction, and we accepted and understood it.”

• READ MORE: Alberto Puig shares what Honda must ‘take into account’ before trying to re-sign Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez could potentially end his MotoGP career back at the factory Honda team

Despite the fact that Marquez secured his seventh premier class title in 2025 with Ducati, there is a possibility that we could see the Ant of Cervera ride for the Japanese constructor once again.

MotoGP veteran Carlo Pernat believes Honda would pay Marquez ‘a small country’s budget’ in order to get him back within the ranks of the squad, but he has made it clear in the past that money doesn’t motivate him.

The only reason why Marquez would make a return to his former outfit will be if they were able to produce a bike that was capable of carrying him to another world title.

They have been on the back foot in recent years, but recent results suggest Honda are now on an upward trajectory.

Luca Marini thinks Honda’s reliance on Marquez was the reason for their regression down the pecking order in the first place.

Once they no longer had the services of the Catalan, they were seemingly lost in deciding which route to take in development.