NEWS | 06/04/2017
The Brazilian was the third star of the 'Campo de Estrellas' program on Realmadrid TV."I feel like I've come through the ranks because I've been here for 10 years, it would have been a pleasure for me to play with Castilla. There were offers from CSKA Moscow and Sevilla. The deal was almost done with Sevilla because Fluminense had already signed an agreement but Madrid were interested, and I said that if this was true that I wanted to go to Madrid”.
Beginnings
“I started playing indoor football when I was 4, and then when I was 8 or 10 I started with beach football because I wanted to be a goalkeeper and I dived around on the sand and it didn't hurt a bit. I started playing at Helénico. When I was eight years old, Fluminense called me and after I'd been to a training session they said they didn't want me because there were other players who were better than me. So I went back to Helénico and continued to play well. Vasco da Gama signed me up, I played there for a year and then they told me the same as Fluminense and I returned to Helénico. Fluminense then got in contact again and within two years I was playing in the first team”.
Relationship with his grandfather
“He was like my guardian angel. I told him everything, things I wouldn't tell my mum or dad. He was the only one who understood me, he was so happy for me and he took note of every goal I scored. He was a very good person”.
“He was a driver and he gave it up because he had to take me to training. He had a car but no money, so he sold the car and kept the money for the bus tickets. I always think, how can you sell your car if you're not sure your grandson is going to become a footballer? This was a significant moment for me. I had a wonderful childhood, I didn't have everything I wanted but my family gave me all I ever needed".
Roberto Carlos
“To come to a place where your idol is playing and have him welcome you so warmly, knowing you play in his positon - that's rare in football. I came here to be Roberto Carlos' successor. He treated me and my family as if we were his own. He gave us his number and told us to call him if we needed anything”.
Madrid has given me everything, I've lived in the city for 10 years and it's amazing.
"We spent Christmas with him because we couldn't go back to Brazil. It was amazing, to be at your idol's house and have him welcome you in like that was absolutely priceless. We're still very good friends today”.
Sergio Ramos
“He's like a brother to me, we've been here a long time, it's been 10 years. When I arrived, I wasn't the Marcelo that I am today, I was just a kid and he treated me the same, that was important to me”.
La Décima
“I had played four games in a row in LaLiga and when the final came around I saw I wasn't playing. I was frustrated because I wanted to help the team and feel important in the group. I was on the bench and I just had a hunch I'd have a role to play. In the end, I came on and helped the team and we won La Décima and I felt very important. It was a sense of great joy and relief as well because you're playing in a final with the whole world watching, with your family in the stadium and you can't lose a game like that”.
La Undécima
“The difference to La Décima was that this time I played from the start, and that's what I had wanted the last time around, to be in the starting line-up. I was there and I wanted to put my heart and soul into it and in the end, we managed to win them both”.
The greatest moment
“Madrid has given me everything, I've lived in the city for 10 years and it's amazing. My family are very settled here and Madrid have helped me a lot. The best moment for me was when I felt like the fans, the people here, the president and my teammates considered me as one of the captains of the side. I have fought and been through a lot, made a lot of sacrifices but you can't put a price on being one of the captains at Real Madrid”.
The worst moment
“When I was 18 years old an executive at the club called me to his office at the Bernabéu and I went alone. He told me that they wanted to loan me out to get some experience and that I'd come back the following season. I told him I wasn't going to move from Madrid. That was my worst moment because I knew the team didn't need me and I had to gain more experience but it was also the moment that I was at my strongest”.
Marcelo Defender