According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Real Madrid are not thinking of selling Marcelo Vieira this summer. Marcelo will stay one more year as per his contract and the club will decide about his future next summer. Following his stay, Marcelo will be named the first captain next season as Sergio Ramos departed this summer.
Marcelo was bought by the Spanish giants in 2007 for a fee of €5.5 million from Fluminense. The Madrid scouts were struck by his talent and thought of him as an ideal replacement for Roberto Carlos. Following his debut, Marcelo has appeared 528 times while scoring 38 goals and 101 assists in all competitions.
The Brazilian has also lifted 22 trophies at Real Madrid, which includes 4 Champions League and 5 La Liga titles. However, Marcelo failed to carry his form last season as he suffered frequent injuries.
Following which the manager replaced him with the French left-back Ferland Mendy. And due to his less game time last season it was rumored that Madrid will load off the 33-year-old. But the club has decided otherwise, by letting him stay one more year at the club as per his contract.
Marcelo to be named the first captain at Real Madrid for next season
Real Madrid will be naming Marcelo as the first captain for the next season after Sergio Ramos departed from Madrid after 16 years. The Brazilian will also be the first non-Spaniard captain for Madrid in over 100 years. The last non-Spaniard captain was Guatemalan Federico Revierto in 1904, and as he gave up his armband it was all Spanish captain after that.
At Madrid, the captaincy is given to the player who has been in the first team for the longest. Meaning that Marcelo who has served the club for 15 years will be given the armband. Following the Brazilian, Karim Benzema will be the second captain and if Raphael Varane stays then he will be named the third captain. While the fourth captain will be Madrid’s academy player, Nacho Fernandez.
However, despite Marcelo being the first captain it will be Benzema who will be leading the team in most of the matches. Marcelo is not considered a regular starter in the team following his degrading ability to defend due to his age. While he has also been successfully replaced by Ferland Mendy at the left-back last season.
