After 11 years of service to Grêmio, Geromel announces retirement at the end of the year
Tuesday (1st) was full of excitement for Grêmio fans. In a press conference at CT Luiz Carvalho, after the second training session of the week, the captain Pedro Geromel announced his retirement at the end of the season. At 39 years old, the defender says goodbye to football after a 22-year career and eleven with Grêmio. For Tricolor, the idol won 12 titles and played 405 matches, scoring 15 goals and providing five assists.
He explains what motivated the decision: “last year I had a lot of difficulties playing and this year, thank God, I’m able to train every day. I had an arm injury against Estudiantes and my idea was to stop in the middle of the year. I had the surgery and there was the flood, which it affected all the people of Rio Grande do Sul. I spoke with the management and we did not think it was appropriate to stop at this time and we extended the bond until the end of the year”.
THE identification between Geromel and the fans goes beyond the four lines. In more than a decade in Porto Alegre, the defender was crucial in moments of glory, such as winning the Copa do Brasil, in 2016, and the Libertadores, in 2017. On the other hand, he also wore the captain’s armband in the Series dispute B of the Brazilian Championship, in 2022, helping the team from Rio Grande do Sul return to the national elite.
Living his peak in the Capital, the defender became world cup player for the Brazilian team when called up by Tite, in 2018, to compete in the World Cup in Russia. In addition to the two cups mentioned above, the athlete won the Recopa Sul-Americana, seven Campeonatos Gaúchos and two Recopas Gaúchas with the club. Before Grêmio, he defended the colors of Chaves and Vitória de Guimarães, in Portugal, Köln, in Germany, and Mallorca, in Spain.
In 2025, there was an expectation that the idol would be present in the Gauchão dispute, which could mark the achievement of an unprecedented eighth state championship for Tricolor. “It would be really cool to play another Gauchão and play more in the Brazilian Championship, but that demands a lot from me. So I decided to do that to prioritize other things”, explains Geromel.
There are eleven Brasileirão games left until the end of the season. Today on the bench, the expectation is that the defender will receive more opportunities in the final stretch of the competition, counting on a calmer situation for Renato Portaluppi’s team in the fight against relegation. In the Arena, there are five clashes left. In addition to Fortaleza, at 9:30 pm this Friday, Tricolor also hosts Atlético-GO, Juventude, São Paulo and Corinthians, this one in the last round, on December 8th.
