“Something told me that I had to go back” - Marcelo admits he held talks with Cristiano Ronaldo over dream reunion at new club
Marcelo has claimed that he held talks with Cristiano Ronaldo over the possibility of a reunion at Al-Nassr earlier this year.
The Brazilian superstar played alongside Ronaldo at Real Madrid for nine years, making 333 appearances alongside him and winning 17 trophies. The two have been good friends off the pitch during and beyond the duration of their respective spells in Spain's capital city.
Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018 for Juventus while Marcelo was released by the club in the summer of 2022. He initially joined Olympiacos but left them in February 2023 when his boyhood club, Fluminense, came calling.
According to Marcelo himself, he had the chance to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. But he rejected that opportunity to return to Fluminense — the club where he honed his skills before earning a move to Real Madrid in January 2007.
Speaking about the situation, the 35-year-old left-back recently said on the Charla podcast, via O Jogo (h/t GOAL):
"We [Marcelo and Ronaldo] talked about this some time ago. I had some proposals to leave, not just there [Al Nassr], but I needed to return here [Brazil], to my roots. Something told me that I had to go back."
Marcelo's contract at the Maracana doesn't expire until December 2024. Ronaldo, meanwhile, is contracted with the Saudi Pro League until the summer of 2025. He has registered 30 goals and 11 assists in 36 games for Faris Najd since making the switch to the Middle East.
What Cristiano Ronaldo tweeted when Marcelo left Real Madrid
The summer of 2022 saw Marcelo leave Real Madrid after a 15-year association with the club.
After it was announced that the Brazilian full-back would leave the Santiago Bernabeu, Ronaldo took to his X (formerly Twitter) account and wrote:
"More than a team-mate, a brother that football gave me. On and off the fields, one of the biggest stars with whom I had the pleasure of sharing a locker room. Go with everything on this new adventure, Marcelo."
See the tweet below:
Ronaldo and Marcelo recorded 33 joint goal participations during their time with Los Merengues. They won four UEFA Champions League titles and Ronaldo won four of his Ballon d'Or awards while he was with the La Liga giants.