Marcelo arrived to Spain in 2006 and he was only 18 years old. He was a young left back from Brazil and no one knew him. Actually, he was heavily criticized at the beginning because of his problems with the defensive skills. 10 years later he’s one of the captains of the squad and, perhaps, the best left back in the world.
In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Bayern Munich, Marcelo will play his 400th game with the white t-shirt. “I’d never thought I could achieve these numbers with Real Madrid”, Marcelo said in an interview with Globoesporte.
This is a milestone for every footballer and not many Real Madrid players can say that. He scored a goal in a Champions League final -the third in Lisbon against Atlético Madrid- and he raised twice the European trophy.
Marcelo is still very young but he’s already looking at the future, when he cannot play anymore for Los Blancos: “I’d love to play eventually for Botafogo. It’d be amazing”, the Brazilian said. He came to Spain from Fluminense but he’d love to play for the other Brazilian team.
Botafogo answered very quickly in social media, welcoming the Real Madrid player:
Aqui botafoguense sempre será bem-vindo, @MarceloM12 ! ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/igqUpDbbqy
— Botafogo F.R. (@BotafogoOficial) April 17, 2017
Marcelo’s contract expires in 2020, but the club wants to extend it until 2022. No one doubts about the quality and the professionalism of the Brazilian defender and he’s one of the favourite players of the supporters. Besides, he doesn’t have a replacement in the squad, with Fabio Coentrao showing a very poor performance.
In the meantime, Real Madrid are trying to look for another left back in the market, not to replace Marcelo, but because the Brazilian player needs some rest during the seasons to avoid injuries. Theo Hernández, currently playing on loan at Alavés from Atlético Madrid, is the favourite one.
