{"id":2743,"date":"2026-04-12T16:58:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T16:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/2743\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T16:58:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T16:58:35","slug":"difficult-to-leave-real-madrid-not-so-much-actually-if-id-known-earlier-that-this-new-stage-of-my-life-would-be-so-satisfying-i-would-have-retired-back-in-2018-former-l","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/2743\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Difficult to leave Real Madrid? Not so much, actually. If I\u2019d known earlier that this new stage of my life would be so satisfying, I would have retired back in 2018!\u2019 Former Los Blancos star has no regret over hanging up his boots"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"<\/p>\n

Playing for Real Madrid brings plenty of pressure. | Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Real Madrid is undoubtedly one of the most difficult clubs to play for in world football.<\/p>\n

Not only are you up against the best of the best every single day in training, but you\u2019re also at the behest of a demanding and sometimes unforgiving Los Blancos<\/a> crowd.<\/p>\n

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No team has won even half as many Champions Leagues<\/a> as the side from the Spanish capital \u2013 with such history comes great responsibility.<\/p>\n

Marcelo reveals how much he\u2019s enjoying post-Real Madrid life\"Marcelo<\/p>\n

Marcelo left Real Madrid in 2022 | Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Brazilian full-back Marcelo<\/a> is one of the few who managed to clock more than 15 years at the club, joining from Fluminense<\/a> in 2007 and departing in 2022 for Greek outfit Olympiacos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He enjoyed a career littered with success and silverware with the La Liga<\/a> giants, a record that some might struggle to climb down from, but no for the 37-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot so much, actually,\u201d he replied when FourFourTwo asked whether it had been difficult to leave Madrid.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was always very aware of where I came from. I arrived in Madrid barely 18 years old and left with a clear conscience, my head held high and the feeling of having fulfilled my duty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I joined the club, my thought was, \u2018I want to help this team win more titles.\u2019 I\u2019ve even seen a photo of me saying that.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I had no idea what Real Madrid really was, a club that had already accumulated so many successes. With the perspective of time, it was a somewhat na\u00efve comment \u2013 people were surprised by it.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we won an enormous amount. I think I left in a very good way, and very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Marcelo<\/p>\n

Few have more trophies for Real Madrid than Marcelo<\/p>\n

Marcelo officially announced his retirement at the start of 2025, having completed the circle of his career by finishing at Fluminense.<\/p>\n

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In 2022, he\u2019d surpassed club legend Paco Gento\u2019s record of 23 trophies at Los Blancos, a chart now topped by Luka Modric<\/a> on 28 \u2013 it\u2019s no surprise a slower way of life suits Marcelo now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019d known earlier that this new stage of my life would be so satisfying, then I would have left football back in 2018!\u201d he said. \u201cI still like fooball a lot, but now I enjoy playing casual games, without feeling the pressure \u2013 pulling off a nutmeg is pure happiness!<\/p>\n

\u201cI have many projects, but football has always been about having fun for me. During my career I didn\u2019t have problems, but there were criticisms, constant pressure and an obligation to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my whole life I\u2019d been surrounded by pressure. It wasn\u2019t that I was tired, but I felt it was enough and that the moment had arrived. I think I made the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Playing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1054,2011,82,2010,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-2743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-madrid","8":"tag-los-blancos","9":"tag-luka-modric","10":"tag-madrid","11":"tag-marcelo","12":"tag-real-madrid"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}