Marcelo has told Real Madrid president Florentino Perez he will leave on a free transfer in the summer after Leeds United and Everton showed an interest in the Brazil international, as reported by El Nacional.
You get the feeling Zinedine Zidane the manager wouldn’t have got on well with Zinedine Zidane the player.
But while the former Los Blancos coach tended to prioritise experience over exuberance, putting his faith in steady, 7/10 performers while often leaving more gifted footballers on the sidelines, his successor, Carlo Ancelotti, has wasted little time in pressing the reset button.
Vinicius Jr, fresh from adding a much-needed ruthless streak to his speed and mind-bending skill, is rapidly emerging as the poster boy of Ancelotti’s second spell in the Spanish capital. Rodrygo Goes, Fede Valverde and Marcos Asensio, meanwhile, have been afforded the kind of opportunities seldom seen under Zidane.
One thing the grand old master and his all-conquering apprentice appear to agree on, however, is Marcelo’s days at the very top level are over.
Now 33 and with Real Madrid lacking the defensive resilience required to cover his swashbuckling tendencies, the four-time Champions League winner has been afforded just one minute of La Liga football this season, falling behind Ferland Mendy, Miguel Gutierrez and David Alaba in Ancelotti’s pecking order.
Could Real Madrid legend Marcelo handle the pace at Leeds or Everton?
In June, The Mirror reported Leeds United and Everton were prepared to offer Marcelo, whose guile, craft and match-changing capabilities remain undiminished even as he approaches his 34th birthday, an opportunity to sample the delights of the Premier League for the first time.
That was then, however, and while Marcelo has made it clear to President Perez he’ll end 15 years at the Santiago Bernabeu when his contract expires in the summer, a return to Brazil with Flamengo appears the most likely destination.
Would Marcelo Bielsa – or the similarly disciplined Rafa Benitez for that matter – be willing to find a place in their plans for a man who has spent his career as a free-floating freedom fighter, an anthesis to everything Bielsa and Benitez stand for?
It seems doubtful.
Then again, it’s not often a man of Marcelo’s experience, quality and influence becomes available…
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