Tension reigns as Marcelo and Fluminense go their separate ways

Marcelo is now officially without a team after the Brazilian defender mutually agreed his contract termination with Fluminense with the Serie A club later officially confirming the news earlier on Saturday.

During Flu’s game against Gremio, the 36-year-old was a key protagonist. Just as the former Real Madrid man was poised to take to the filed as a substitute, he was seen arguing with his coach and was sent back to the bench. An episode which, in the end, led to his ultimate dismissal.

Marcelo was to come on in the 45th minute of the second half with his side 2-1 ahead. However, something was said to Mano Menezes and the Flu coach told him to go back to the bench.

Images show the coach coming to the touchline to say something to Marcelo before he enters the pitch in the final minute of normal time and the coach even grabs the player affectionately by the shoulders. Whatever the defender said subsequently angers Menezes who immediately turns to stop his entrance, finally calling Kennedy as the replacement for Vinicius Lima.

“I was going to put Marcelo on, but there was one thing I didn’t like and I changed my mind. Then I put John Kennedy in,’ said the manager after the match.

Marcelo out at Flu

The decision for the player and club to go their separate ways comes as a surprise given the stature of Marcelo at ‘El Tricolor’ with the Rio de Janeiro based side even naming a Fluminense youth stadium after him recently. At present the defender has yet to offer his side of the disagreement with coach Menezes.

Marcelo will now miss out on the Club World Cup next summer and a possible chance to play against Real Madrid. A bitter end for a player who apart from a glittering career with Real Madrid, returned to his native Brazil and a return to his boyhood club Fluminense. In his return to South America, the veteran won the Campeonato Carioca 2023, the Libertadores 2023 and the Recopa Sudamericana 2024 and was a key figure on the Flu dressing room.