Marcelo Hangs Up His Boots: A Real Madrid Icon Retires

The 36-year-old won five Champions League medals and six La Liga wins during his 16 years at Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid.

In a social media video, Marcelo stated, "I came here when Real Madrid knocked on my door at the age of 18." I may now declare with pride that I am a bonafide Madrileno.

"What a trip. Real Madrid is a special team.

In addition, he won the Club World Cup four times and the Copa del Rey twice while playing for Los Blancos, where he scored 38 goals in 546 games.

In a statement, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said, "We had the honor of watching one of the greatest left-backs in Real Madrid and world football history for a long time."

"Real Madrid is and always will be his home, and he is one of our greatest legends."

Marcelo played in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, won the 2013 Confederations Cup, and has 58 appearances for the Brazilian national team.

He was a member of the teams that took home bronze in Beijing in 2008 and silver at the 2012 Olympics.

"It has also been a great honor to play for my country since the youth categories," he continued.

"I will always treasure two Olympic medals and a Confederations Cup in my memory."

Before moving to Real Madrid, Marcelo began his career with Fluminense, a Brazilian team.

After leaving the Santiago Bernabeu, he joined Olympiakos, a Greek team, but he left after just five months to rejoin Fluminense.

In the 2023 final, Marcelo assisted his local team in defeating Boca Juniors to win the Copa Libertadores for the first time.


Last November, he quit the team by mutual consent, and he hasn't played since.