MY ACCOUNT
An emotional Marcelo declared Real Madrid have “a promising future” as the Los Blancos legend issued his farewell at the Santiago Bernabeu on Monday.
Marcelo has been with Los Blancos since 2007, making almost 550 appearances for the LaLiga giants, but confirmed he would depart after last month’s Champions League final victory over Liverpool.
That was the fifth Champions League title added to the left-back’s illustrious trophy haul, while he played a part as Madrid lifted their 35th LaLiga title with four games to spare.
The Spanish top-flight success made him Madrid’s most decorated player in history after lifting 24 trophies with the club, before adding another European triumph to extend his record.
Marcelo only appeared 18 times in all competitions in the 2021-22 campaign, but the 34-year-old is delighted to leave behind a legacy at “the best club in the world”.
“When I left Brazil I had in mind to play in Europe, to play in the Champions League and now when I leave Real Madrid, I leave as the player with the most titles in the history of the best club in the world and that is something historic,” he said at his farewell news conference.
“There are no words to explain the gratitude, the work of all those who are behind it, all of them. I have tried for all these years, I have treated everyone equally.
“There will be no problem coming back. I don’t feel like I am leaving, but there will be no problem.
“I have always lived for the moment. I have not thought beyond it. Here they gave me the opportunity to play it all and to win it all on the magical nights at the Bernabeu.
“I can only be grateful that I have lived all these years happily, with a smile on my face. I haven’t had many injuries, I had good games, I scored goals.
“I don’t think much about the future. It’s hard to leave the club of your life after 15 years. There’s a lot of joy, suffering, pain…
“I’ve given everything for the club. I would do the same thing again. Wearing this shirt is a very nice thing. The future doesn’t scare me – it’s what I had to do. History is already written. I’m very happy with myself.”
As for his next move, Marcelo remains unbothered by going into coaching and was unable to provide an update on his playing future amid talk of a move to Turkey.
“When I have something, if I have something, I’ll tell you,” he added. “I don’t have the capacity to coach – I have other facets that I think I’m better at.
“Tactics for me have always been strange. I’ve never understood systems. But I really enjoy playing. I don’t think I’m a coach, I don’t think I’ll try.”
Marcelo signed off by assuring Los Blancos supporters that the club was in safe hands, adding: “Real Madrid has a very promising future”.
