Real Madrid Legend Marcelo Leaves Fluminense By Mutual Agreement

Former Real Madrid great, Marcelo, had his contract at boyhood club Fluminense terminated two months early on Saturday, one day after the defender’s touchline spat with coach Mano Menezes.

The Brazilian club said in a statement that the decision was by mutual agreement.

“The institutional and emotional bonds between Fluminense and Marcelo remain untouched,” Fluminense said.

Marcelo did not comment.

Last year, Marcelo won the Rio de Janeiro state championship and the Copa Libertadores titles with Fluminense, his first professional club before transferring to Real Madrid at the age of 18 in late 2006.

During his time at Madrid, he won five Champions League titles and six La Liga championships.

Menezes was going to use the 36-year-old Marcelo as a substitute in the final minutes of Fluminense’s clash against Gremio in a Brazilian league match.

The defender seemed to challenge the coach’s instructions, who chose to field striker John Kennedy instead.

Fluminense led 2-1 at the time, but Gremio scored from the spot shortly before the final whistle to equalize at the Maracana Stadium.

“I was going to bring Marcelo in at that time, but I heard one thing that I did not like and I changed my mind,” Menezes said at a news conference. “He wasn’t going in to solve any problem for us, he was stepping in to let us keep what we had [on the scoreboard]. It was just two, three minutes to the end.”

Fluminense is currently in 12th place in the Brazilian league, having won 37 points from 32 matches.