Real Madrid captain Marcelo is set to leave the club after 15 years.
The veteran left-back has established himself as a club legend at Los Blancos, with whom he has made 533 first-team appearances and won 22 trophies.
The Brazilian had been a key figure in Madrid’s first team for over a decade but had lost his starting berth in recent years following the arrival of Ferland Mendy from Lyon in 2019.
Now aged 33, Marcelo was limited to just 31 La Liga appearances across the past two full seasons while he has been beset by multiple leg muscular injuries in recent campaigns.
UK Mirror reports that Marcelo is out of contract at Real Madrid this coming summer and his deal at the club is not likely to be renewed, meaning that he will leave as a free agent at the end of the campaign.
The experienced player is not short of potential suitors but his intention is to return to Brazil and his former club Fluminense, whom he left to join Madrid in January 2007.
Marcelo made just 40 appearances for ‘Flu’ – one of the giants of Brazilian football – before his move to the Spanish capital, but during that short stint, he did score six goals for the club.
Upon his arrival, Marcelo was somewhat inevitably hailed as the next Roberto Carlos – his compatriot who had become a Real Madrid cult hero due to his goal threat from left-back.
In 2012, Roberto Carlos commented on the comparison, “Marcelo possesses a better technical ability than me.”
When Marcelo arrived at Real Madrid, then club president Ramon Calderon said, “He is an important signing for us.
“He is a young player who will inject some freshness into the side and is part of our plan to bring younger players into the squad.
“We’re very happy because he’s a pearl that half of Europe wanted.”
Marcelo would go on to win a grand total of 22 trophies at the club, including five La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns – including three in a row between 2016 and 2018.
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