Welcome to the second edition of the End of an era, the first episode was all about Sadio Mane and in that post, I answered several random questions about him leaving the club and his time at Liverpool.
Today is about one man who has spent 16 years with a Spanish side in the La Liga and he is also the most decorated player in the club's history, we have seen players that spent most of their career with a single club and such loyalty is exceptional in the eyes of many football lovers across the globe.
Marcel Vieira is one of the players whose name will never be forgotten in the history of Real Madrid, the Brazilian has spent the last 16 years of his career with the Uefa Champions League winners. Although his career started with Fluminense even as a youth but his glory days started with Real Madrid because that was where he made everything he has achieved today.
He joined Madrid at the age of 18 with a transfer fee of $8 million and has seen it all with the club, I am fond of saying he has won it all. I mentioned earlier about being the most decorated player in the history of Real Madrid, he has won 25 titles with the club which I find remarkable and I will say that there is no question as to why he was added to the club legend list because he deserves to be called one.
The five times Champions League winner is one of the few footballers to have won the Uefa title five times in their entire career, he has won it more than lots of clubs who have entered the competition.
He isn't much of a goal scorer, and I have a lot of football lover who asks the question of how many goals has he scored in his entire career?
He is a defender and it is not his responsibility to score goals but to defend, his role requires him to build an attack from the defense which he hasn't failed at doing. His skill and speed have helped him perform extraordinary with Madrid and he will be remembered for that always, he hasn't just played but has helped the young players in the Real Madrid squad build so much confidence in themselves.
Marcelo played in over 500 matches for Real Madrid and scoring 37 goals isn't bad, he has contributed so much to the team's success during his very active days. Having over 100 assists to his name is incredible for a left-back, it tells how much he has contributed to the team attack.
He became the club captain in June 2021, he was the perfect replacement for Sergio Ramos after his move to Paris Saint German. It was a great achievement for the left-back even though injuries didn't allow him to enjoy much playing time, he became the first foreigner to wear the Real Madrid captain band.
Individually, he has won over 40 awards in his career so far and might still get more even at the age of 34. The left-back has been linked to Real Valladolid after leaving Real Madrid, the future is yet to be decided but I believe he will be an asset to any team that is bold enough to get his signature.
His journey with Madrid has ended but his career hasn't, his farewell got lots of people including himself really emotional. There shouldn't be too many expectations of him in his remaining days but he will definitely have an impact in any club he finds himself in, the younger generation has a lot to learn from him.
I remembered when Dirk Kuyt left Liverpool, he said "it was time for him to let the young player shine". I believe Marcelo Vieira did the same as well, Real Madrid has lots of talent that need to shine, he made the perfect decision, and I wish him a bigger honor in the remaining days of his career.
🏆 This post has been supported by @sportsheart - The beating heart of Sports on Blurt
