Marcelo on Ronaldo: Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid in the summer last year after 9 seasons with the side.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 after nine glorious years with the club. The forward lifted a stunning four Champions League titles and two La Liga titles with the side.
His transfer to Juventus was a shock to the footballing fraternity, as one of the commonly accepted notions was that Ronaldo will retire at Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants struggled significantly in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo but seem to get back on track in the second half of the season.
Marcelo, one of Ronaldo’s close friends at Real Madrid, has now disclosed when the Portuguese forward told about his decision to leave the club.
Marcelo on Ronaldo:
Marcelo has been one of the key figures alongside Cristiano Ronaldo inside the Real Madrid dressing room. The two Portuguese-speaking natives have been close friends in the dressing room.
The Brazilian has now revealed that Ronaldo revealed to him about leaving Real Madrid even before their Champions League final in Kiev.
Marcelo explains Cristiano Ronaldo informed him of decision to leave #RealMadrid before last season’s #UCL final and speaks of #Juventus interest: “They are a great club” https://t.co/mzK9C7j3KQ pic.twitter.com/KebOPjlOEd
— footballespana (@footballespana_) February 11, 2019
Marcelo on when he learned that Cristiano Ronaldo was leaving Real Madrid: “We were training for our last Champions League Final against Liverpool and he told me: ‘I’m leaving’. So yes, he confessed it to me before the match.” pic.twitter.com/N62R7cTO7S
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) February 11, 2019
“Damn, we were training for the final and he told me: ‘I’m leaving,'” Marcelo told journalist Tatiana Mantovani, as quoted by AS.
In an earlier interview with the journalist, Marcelo told a different story when asked about the departure of Ronaldo and accepted that he lied at that time.
“Yes, I had to lie to you,” said Marcelo.
The Brazilian defender has been linked with a move to Juventus because of his friendship with Ronaldo, but no deal has been put on the table from the Italian side yet.
Earlier, Marcelo talked about the impact of Ronaldo’s departure on Real Madrid in December.
“Cristiano was not only a teammate but he is also my friend.
“It is clear that if the best player in the World is not in your team, you will miss him. Any team will like to have Cristiano Ronaldo but in the end, Madrid will always be Madrid and we will have the best players in every position.”
Marcelo:
“We were training for the [UCL] final when Cristianon Ronaldo told me he was leaving.”
Its already planned, Zidane knew it. Probably Calderon was right some days ago.
— Zeeshan⁷ (@Factnaldo) February 11, 2019
He also spoke about Ronaldo’s comments on Real Madrid in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, which sparked significant controversy.
“Cristiano speaks of Juventus. Real Madrid has not spoken at any time.
“Cristiano has been here for 9 years & if he has some problems, they are his. I’ve never had any problems and there’s nothing else to talk about,” said Marcelo.
