Chronicle Madrid already thinks of Paris
Direct Narration and Statistics
The knees on the ground, the palms of the hands touching the grass and some tears in the eyes.
This is how Marcelo
received
the final whistle of his last home game at the
Santiago Bernabéu
.
The Brazilian, who signed in
2006
, made his debut in
2007
and is already the player with the most titles in the history of
Real Madrid
(
24
), his contract ends and it does not seem that he will renew.
At
34 years old
, he has not yet decided if he will hang up his boots or look for new attractions in the world of football.
His 'goodbye' (or so it seemed) was the most exciting part of
Madrid's last meeting
with his fans before the trip to
Paris
to play the
Champions League final
.
That and the beautiful
double aisle
that became the
champion of the League
and the champion of the
Copa del Rey
.
Marcelo heard the applause of the public during the presentation of the players, when he went out to warm up the band and when he jumped onto the grass to play the
last 20 minutes of the match
.
After the duel, he received hugs from all his teammates and surrendered with a mutual gesture of praise to
Joaquín Sánchez
, who at
40
has renewed another year with the Verdiblancos.
For Marcelo, the passage of time seems to have forced him to step aside a few years earlier, but he has the same affection for the fans that
Puerto de Santa María
has for his.
"From Marcelo we are talking about a myth, a
legend of our club
.
It is normal for people to be fond of him for what he has given and his way of being.
But now we have a final and we have to be focused on that, then we'll see,"
Butragueño
said .
"
Enzo, get your father out
!", the Animation Stand yelled at
Enzo Alves
, Marcelo's son, 25 minutes after the end of the match and when part of the stands had already left the Bernabéu.
The 12-year
-old boy
paid attention to them and entered the locker room tunnel for the Madrid captain.
A few minutes later, with the seats completely empty, Marcelo jumped back onto the pitch to chat with
Nacho, Modric and Lucas
, who had gone out with their children and their partners.
"
I don't know if he has been fired
, we only know that his contract is ending. He is a legend, hopefully on Saturday we win another Champions League together," Courtois assured of the Brazilian, leaving the door open for a last-minute surprise.
Carlo Ancelotti showed himself in the same vein: "
He has not said goodbye yet
. He is still
our captain
and he will be in the final as well."
Marcelo has not completely closed the door to a downward renewal and will wait several weeks for an offer from the board.
Already on the horizon, the Champions League final and, of course, the outcome of the future of
Kylian Mbappé
.
"
We are not talking about players who are not ours
. We feel great respect for him and for PSG. I repeat, it's time to think about the Champions League," added Butragueño.
Ancelotti: "Everything is clear to me"
Already at a press conference,
Carlo Ancelotti
assured that he had "
everything clear
" about the starting eleven and the game idea for the final against Liverpool.
"Everything is clear to me", he declared, before confirming that
David Alaba
"is fine" and will play the duel against the '
reds
'.
"Today we didn't need to take risks," he explained.
For the Italian, the key to the season has been that some players "who
have won four Champions Leagues
" have not caused problems "if they did not play."
"
They have never lowered their arms
, the atmosphere has been spectacular in the locker room."
In addition, he praised
Isco
: "I was just commenting with him before the match that he made his debut in Madrid with me. His contract ends, he has had a fantastic career here, it has been very important.
Could he have done more? Of course he did
, but it has been a important piece.
Finally, he announced that
Gareth Bale
"will be fine for the final".
The Welshman was not at the stadium to say goodbye to the fans, but the coach defended him: "
He wanted to play if he was okay to say goodbye
, but now he has one last chance."
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Marcelo
Gareth Bale
Mbappe
Carlo Ancelotti
Thibaut Courtois
Luka modric