Understand why Marcelo chose Fluminense even with interest from clubs in Europe, the United States and Saudi Arabia

Marcelo’s return to Fluminense can be described by several adjectives. Surprisingly, however, it is not one of them. What may cause astonishment in the return of the most victorious revelation of Xerém is the fact that he refused more financially attractive markets to defend the tricolor. Understanding this movement is interesting and indicates how the left-back wanted to return to the club that revealed him.

Before signing with Fluminense, Marcelo received surveys from clubs in the United States, Europe and Saudi Arabia. The Saudis, by the way, were not just anyone: it was about Al-Nassr, the club that star Cristiano Ronaldo currently defends. None of the polls received captivated the left-back.

The reason was told to the tricolor board: Marcelo wanted to feel good to play football. And he would also like to return to Brazil. So, one thing led to another: returning to the club that made him famous and playing in a top competition like the Libertadores became the ideal scenario. It’s the motivation he seeks in the final stretch of his career.

To get an idea, the figures that Marcelo could receive in Saudi Arabia would be far superior to those of Fluminense. It is worth noting that the left-back agreed to reduce the salary received in European football to play for the tricolor. He earned more than a million reais, something that will not be repeated in Flu.

Another demonstration of how much Marcelo would like to return to Fluminense is that he had an agreement with the club to arrive in July, when his contract with Olympiacos ended, but he sought the termination of his contract with the Greeks in order to arrive earlier and play in the competitions. early stages of Libertadores.

President of Fluminense, Mario Bittencourt also spoke about Marcelo’s salaries, but did not give details. According to the tricolor representative, however, the salary is within the club’s reality, in addition to the possibility of royalty bonuses.

— There was no cost for Marcelo to come, he comes for free, just for the salaries, which I cannot speak about. But it is within the reality of Fluminense, of Brazilian football and within the reality of our squad. I can say that he will have a salary compatible with that of the players in our squad. He also has a marketing composition, as he had with Fred and with other players. There are product launches with royalties for him, as we have Cano dolls, as we will do for other players. Basically it’s a CLT contract and an image contract, in addition to bonuses with royalties and like all players have in awards in achievements. He returns with love to the club, for the project. I can guarantee that at no time did he come back thinking financially, because in Europe or in other markets he would get more – he quoted.

Negotiation backstage

The starting point for Marcelo’s arrival at Flu happened in 2021, when President Mário Bittencourt began to monitor his situation. At the time, vehicles from Spain already reported that Real would not renew with the side. However, from the beginning, the athlete’s will was to stay in Europe.

When Marcelo left the Meringues, in September 2022, Fluminense made an official proposal, but the athlete maintained his position and informed that the intention was to return to Brazil only in 2023. Factors such as the idolatry built in the club, the fact that his son playing in Madrid’s youth teams and family issues weighed on him to stay one more season in Europe.

Then, he went to Olympiacos, from Greece. But the scenario changed at the turn of the year. In January, Flu and Marcelo talked again, and a pre-contract proposal was made for him to return to the tricolor in July, when he would end his bond with the Greek club. The side hit.

During this period, several video meetings were held with Marcelo and his staff. In one of these, it was proposed that he try to be released before the end of his contract with the Greek club to play in the early stages of the Libertadores. The athlete then made an effort to seek termination and come to Fluminense in March.

In addition to Mário, sports director Fred, Fernando Diniz and football director Paulo Angioni participated in the meetings. During the conversations, Marcelo commented that he would like to feel motivated to play football, and a return to Fluminense would fulfill that requirement. So the way was open.