Marcelo on his Real Madrid legacy, playing with Cristiano Ronaldo and son Enzo’s rise
In November 2006, an 18-year-old hopeful arrived in Spain’s capital with one small bag on a flight from Rio de Janeiro.
Marcelo would eventually become a Real Madrid legend. Now 34, he is the most decorated player in the club’s history, having won 25 trophies, including five Champions League titles, over 16 years with the team he left last summer.
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With that personal and professional experience, there is no one better to guide the footballing steps of Enzo, 13, Marcelo’s eldest son and one of the most exciting talents in Madrid’s youth academy.
Marcelo himself is now between clubs having ended a brief spell with Olympiacos in February, a week before signing with Fluminense — the Brazilian club where his career started.
Before he makes a poetic return to his hometown team, The Athletic brought father and son together for an interview at Madrid’s Valdebebas training complex.
It is a place where both enjoy a strong presence. Marcelo is a frequent visitor and a poster of the full-back with the word ‘fantasy’ on it is still visible in the club facilities. Enzo is a striker in the ‘Infantil A’ under-14 team.
We start, appropriately enough, at the beginning, with Marcelo looking back on his first few days in Madrid.
"I came with a sweatshirt and nothing else. I left as the club’s most decorated player."
In an exclusive interview with @MarioCortegana, @MarceloM12 talks about:
⚪ His special bond with #RMCF
⚪ His future at Fluminense
⚪ His son Enzo, who is scoring goals for fun— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) March 24, 2023
Marcelo: I was very nervous because I didn’t know exactly what I was coming for. I came with a computer and little else.
They told me it was to get to know the training centre and the stadium and when I realised I didn’t have to go back to Brazil, they told me it was better to sign the contract. I came thinking I was going to see the stadium and I signed the contract of my life.
I’d only seen the players in video games or on TV. I thought what they called Los Galacticos didn’t exist, as if I was never going to really find these people. And it was a shock to be honest. When I got out of there I told my family and friends: “I’ve seen this one, this one, this one, this one… all of them.” They laughed. I laughed, too. Then I got used to it.
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What advice would you give to that young Marcelo?
Marcelo: To be honest, I think I wouldn’t say anything. When I came here there were a lot of great players. I don’t mean just in terms of their quality, but as people. I knew that, if I followed examples like that, I could be someone important in football.
Raul, Sergio Ramos, although he was only two years older than me, he was already a captain. Roberto Carlos, Ruud van Nistelrooy, David Beckham, Michel Salgado… the truth is Michel also helped me a lot when I arrived.
I had good and bad examples and I chose the good ones.
How did it feel to become an example for the young ones yourself?
Marcelo: I have always taken everything very easy. It’s not like talking to a psychologist (laughs). I always ‘bothered’ Eder Militao, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga when he arrived, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, all the kids, Dani Ceballos, Marco Asensio, Dani Carvajal, Nacho (Fernandez), who came up a bit later.
I’m not the one to talk for 10 minutes, but I’m there when I can help: after a game when you play badly you get whistled, which is super normal, or you miss a goal, you score an own goal… that’s where the captain’s role comes in. I started to be one of the captains when I was 23 and I had to learn very quickly.
Is there any example of a critical moment for a young player in which your intervention was key?
Marcelo: Several (pauses)… but I’m not going to tell you (laughs).
Which do you count as your greatest moment at Madrid?
Marcelo: A key one was my farewell, the last day with Real Madrid. The nicest thing was when we were at the Santiago Bernabeu and the fans were singing “Marcelo, stay!”. It was funny because they knew I wasn’t going to stay, but they said it as a joke and it was cool for me.
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I felt like I was leaving with my homework done. In my very first interview, I’d spoken about wanting to come here and help win titles, and I left as the player with the most titles. Someone will pass me and I’ll be delighted because Madrid will continue to win, but to leave with this accolade is an incredible piece of luck. When you arrive, you don’t come and say you are going to win and be the player with the most titles.
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I don’t know if other clubs ever came after me, but if they did it while I was at Real Madrid, I would never have left because I always wanted to be at Madrid.
Now, I’m back here, and I feel the affection of the officials, the players, the restaurant staff, the security, the doctors, everyone. It’s like thinking you’ve changed school; you leave your friends there but then you see them.
One of Marcelo’s closest friendships at Madrid was with Cristiano Ronaldo and the pair often appeared together in social media videos.
Marcelo: There were a lot of videos of Cris and I doing jokes in training, the celebration (“Siuuuh!”) and so on, but Sergio (Ramos), Casemiro, Luka (Modric), Karim (Benzema)… I have a lot of friends in football. Of course, what came out was always about Cristiano and the celebration and it’s super normal, but I have other friends as well with whom I do things outside of football.
From Ronaldo, we move on to the natural subject of facing Lionel Messi.
Marcelo: Messi is incredible, the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced. We all know the quality he has even now, aged 35, and before it was the same. El Clasico has always been one of the best games to watch and play. I was lucky enough to have featured in one of the best eras of Clasicos. But it wasn’t just Messi, there were other players who were also incredible.
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Why did you decide to return to Fluminense? What are your hopes for the move?
Marcelo: The most beautiful thing, for me, is to return to where I grew up as a child, to give back to the team that made me a footballer and prepared me for the career I had with Madrid and Brazil (he played 58 times for the national team from 2006-2018).
The emotion is incredible because I’m coming back home, not only to Rio de Janeiro but to Fluminense. The idea of wearing that shirt again already excites me a lot and I’m looking forward to playing in the Copa Libertadores (South America’s equivalent of the Champions League), which I’ve never done. I really want to get there and help Fluminense reach a final and win the Libertadores.
Is this your last step in football?
Marcelo: Well, I don’t know what can happen, I still want to play for many more years. But if I have to end my career, let it be at Fluminense. For the love they have given me, for all they have helped me with since I was a boy. It is total gratitude, 100 per cent. I am very grateful to Fluminense.
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Will there ever be a return to Real Madrid?
Marcelo: I’m very clear about what I’m going to do after I stop playing football because I have a lot of things, I don’t think I’ll have much time to be on the pitch.
I could do something with Madrid but I’m not in a hurry to know. Real Madrid is my home. I’m always with Real Madrid, Real Madrid is always with me.
Straight from school, Marcelo’s son Enzo appears. He joined La Fabrica in 2017 and signed his first professional contract in December 2022. It is immediately clear his relationship with his father is a close one.
Enzo grew up in a pure football environment and it is proven when he explains that his first memory is from the 2013 Confederations Cup, in which his father’s Brazil side beat Spain 3-0 at the Maracana.
Enzo: I went to the pitch and there is a photo I took with him, with the trophy and with Neymar. I was also playing with the players and I remember I was with David Luiz.
What is it like to be Marcelo’s son?
Enzo: At home, normal. I feel the same, loved. With my team-mates in the dressing room, nothing changes, they treat me the same. I have to keep working the same way, I can’t relax.
How is your day-to-day life?
Enzo: I get up, go to school and from there I go straight to training. I also continue with my studies. I try to study in my spare time so that I don’t fall behind. Sometimes, outside Valdebebas, I also do a bit of training with my father, who helps me.
What three dreams do you want to fulfil?
Enzo: The one I want the most is to get to the first team and play for Real Madrid. The second is to win a World Cup. And the third one is to continue beating my father at FIFA.
After scoring a hat-trick in six minutes last Saturday, Enzo now has 101 goals in 99 games in white. The (very) young striker explains the key to these figures is to apply in matches what he learns in training and, of course, from the attacking skills of his father, despite him being a defender.
Enzo, who is extraordinarily calm in front of the cameras, ends our interview talking about his role models.
Enzo: A striker I’ve loved since I was a kid is Karim Benzema, I’ve always watched him a lot and I love the way he plays. Someone who I also watch a lot and is a very good example is Ronaldo Nazario because he had the ability to score goals, to get away from the goalkeeper, and I’m fascinated by that. It’s incredible.
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That’s apart from my father. And what I’m most proud of about him is that wherever we go, everyone treats him the same. He’s humble, he doesn’t change anything with anyone.
(Photos for top image: The Athletic/Yeray Longueira; designed by Sam Richardson)
