‘It was my last game with Real Madrid’: Marcelo announces he will leave Los Blancos this summer after 15 years at the club as he departs with fairytale ending and as their most decorated ever player
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- Marcelo departs the club having won a record 25 trophies in total at Madrid
- The Brazilian had found minutes hard to come by under Carlo Ancelotti this year
- He is granted the fairytale ending as his last act is lifting the club’s 14th Champions League crown
Real Madrid left-back Marcelo has announced he has played his last game for the club as he gets ready to depart this summer.
The Brazilian, who has been at the club since 2007, was granted his fairytale ending as he lifted his fifth, and Real Madrid’s 14th, Champions League crown on a magical night in Paris for Los Blancos.
The left-back has found minutes hard to come by this season, with Frenchman Ferland Mendy taking the place of the Brazilian, who became club captain after Sergio Ramos’s departure to Paris Saint Germain last summer.
Marcelo departs Real Madrid their most successful ever player after 15 years with the club
He said after the triumph: ‘It’s a very nice moment. When you are first captain you dream of lifting the cup and I have become the only Brazilian to lift a Champions League as captain of Real Madrid.’
Before adding: ‘The emotion is brutal, but I am very happy.
‘It’s not a day of sadness, I’m leaving with a lot of joy, grateful to the fans and the magical nights I’ve experienced at the Bernabeu.’
Marcelo’s 25 trophies in 15 years at Real Madrid puts him on a pedestal as their most decorated ever player.
The Brazilian was awarded the fairytale finish as he lifted the club’s 14th Champions League
Real Madrid’s recent league triumph ensured Marcelo overtook Paco Gento (23 trophy wins) before Saturday’s night triumph pulled him further clear.
Real Madrid fans will be officially able to say goodbye to their Brazilian left-back at a trophy parade in the Spanish capital on Sunday.
The parade, as is tradition, will end at the Fountain of Cybele in the centre of the city. It will be a fitting end for one of Real Madrid’s greatest ever servants.
The left-back has lost out to Ferland Mendy for a starting spot this season at Real Madrid
Marcelo will hand the baton over this summer to Real Madrid’s host of other experienced stars
Meanwhile, talismanic figure Karim Benzema whose goals in each of the knockout rounds ensured Real Madrid made it to the final against often seemingly insurmountable odds, gave the armband he wore for the game to his club captain for the Brazilian to lift the trophy.
Benzema said of the triumph after the game: ‘We are the best again. It has been a very difficult season for us, and we deserved it again.’
‘The game was very difficult, but we showed everyone that we are alive, and we won. A final always involves hard work and tiredness,’ he told Movistar.
‘We scored an offside goal and got into the game in the second half to end up winning the final.’
Vinicius Junior, whose career has blossomed this season, scored the winning goal in Paris
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