Monday June 13, 2022 will not be another day in the life of Marcelo. The footballer with the most titles in the history of Real Madrid said goodbye to the club of his life in an emotional farewell ceremony at the Ciudad Deportiva de Valdebebas. Together with his family, closest friends, all the members of the Board of Directors headed by Florentino, Ancelotti, Carvajal and Asensio as representatives of the first team, the Brazilian received a more than deserved tribute after an impeccable 16-year career in who has won 25 titles, the most in the club’s history: “It’s not goodbye, because I don’t feel like I’m leaving Madrid,” said Marcelo, proud of arriving as a child and leaving as a successful man, in what professional and the personal.
The act, as usual, was started by President Florentino, with a speech full of affection, respect and admiration for the Brazilian: “You are one of the greatest full-backs in the history of our club and of world football. A legend. Unrepeatable as a player and as a way of being. Your fantasy and happiness were always essential for you to achieve great success. You will always be one of the great representatives of Real Madrid. This is and will always be your home. Our fans will always have you in their hearts and memories.”
The white president recalled one of the most beautiful episodes of Marcelo’s beginnings in football, when as a child in Brazil his grandfather traveled 100 kilometers every day in an orange beetle, called a ‘fusquinha’, to take his grandson to train. “Everything I have achieved has been partly because of him. He took me to train, he bet on me, he left me free to choose what he wanted. This made me grow and mature earlier than normal. He came to Madrid when I was 18, and I thought he was mature, and now I know that he had no idea about anything».
After the president’s intervention, it was Marcelo’s turn, who had a hard time starting the speech. Tears of emotion, but also of pride. Black suit, black shirt and silver chain, the Brazilian confessed that he had promised not to cry, but that was an impossible mission: “Let’s see…”, he said as he put his hand to his face and took a deep breath to try to make the tears will give way to words. When possible, he thanked all the players and coaches with whom he shared a dressing room for a decade and a half, but above all he focused on those Madrid employees who “work in the shadows”: “I want to thank doctors, doctors, physios, kit men , people who work in the residence, security personnel… They are all like family. We only dedicate ourselves to playing football, but for that and to have clean boots and clothes there is a job behind. They are very important.”
Raúl, the mythical white captain and current coach of Castilla, was another of the people mentioned by Marcelo, to the point of managing to move the legendary white ‘7’: «Raúl had a very big detail with me. When my oldest son was born, you were the captain of the captain team, and you gave us a basket. I wanted to follow your example as captain and I will never forget what you did for me.
«Thank my wife, always by my side and who has given me two wonderful children. I am what I am today, it is surely because of you, Clarice,” Marcelo said about his wife, who was present at the event with their two children: “When I left Brazil, I had in mind to play for a big team and play in the Champions League. Today I am the player with the most titles in the history of the best club in the world, Real Madrid. It is a day of joy, not sadness. I walk out of here with my head held high. My parents, my grandparents, they are all proud of me. I have been very lucky. This is not a goodbye, because I don’t feel like I’m leaving Madrid. If one day I get here, I ask for a ticket and you don’t give it to me, you’re going to have a problem », he said to end with a laugh.
After the speeches, Florentino handed him the club’s gold and diamond badge. Photos with the family, managers and, of course, with the 25 trophies won with the white shirt. Unforgettable portraits that will remain with him forever, and one last service as a Madridista before the media, whom he attended to in the Valdebebas press room: «The future does not scare me, what I had to do, history, has already been written. I am very happy with myself and my family is very proud of me.
In an extensive press conference in which he was flanked by Emilio Butragueño and Carlos Carbajosa, the club’s press officer, Marcelo was elegant, respectful and honored by what he had experienced, and he was clear with the happiest day in 16 years: “It’s not difficult to choose, it is today. I did everything I should, I leave very happy and I leave a legacy. It was what he wanted to do. See Vini, Rodrygo, Militao, Fede, Camavinga… That is priceless. That they see me as the person I am, not as the Marcelo who won five Champions»
For Marcelo, in comparison with Roberto Carlos, he chooses his compatriot as the best left back of the club, and acknowledges that he asked Zidane and Ancelotti to play more, but over time he has realized that his decisions had to be respected : «I have realized that the leading role is not within the field. Perhaps I have been selfish in talking to Zidane and Ancelotti. We’ve had player/coach discussions, but looking at it now, they have their job and their way of thinking. This season I hardly played anything, but for me it was a lot because I felt very useful not playing. I felt a weight and a responsibility. I was pissed off with Ancelotti, and the next day we were giving each other kisses and hugs. To win, you don’t have to play, you have to team up. I wanted to play more, of course, but the most beautiful thing has been seeing my lifelong teammates and the kids, and feeling important even if I didn’t play. And that’s what Marcelo did, who at 2:47 p.m. opened and closed the door of the Valdebebas press room for the last time.
