Botafogo hand Marcelo a shirt number after Brasileiro nod
The Real Madrid defender stated his desire to play for the Rio-based club when he leaves the Bernabéu and the Brazilian club wasted no time in welcoming him.
Marcelo arrived at Real Madrid in 2007 at the age of 18 and 10 years later the Brazilian full-back is one of the club captains and a favourite of the Bernabéu fans. Marcelo’s contract runs until 2020 and negotiations are underway to extend his deal until 2022.
Marcelo's Botafogo dream
However, the 28-year-old has revealed that he has plans beyond his career in LaLiga. Schooled in futsal from a young age, Marcelo started out at Fluminense but has set his heart on ending his career at Rio neighbours Botafogo. “I’d love to play for Botafogo one day, it would be incredible,” he said in an interview with Globoesporte.
Unsurprisingly, Botafogo wasted no time in welcoming the announcement with open arms, assigning Marcelo the number six shirt and posting a message on the club’s social media account: “A botafoguense is always welcome here.”
400 appearances for Real Madrid
During the interview Marcelo also stated that the atmosphere in the Real Madrid dressing room is the best he has experienced during his time at the club. If he features against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night it will be his 400th appearance for the club in all competitions: “I never imagined I’d reach that figure with Real Madrid,” he added.