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“We Did Not Apologize”: Marcelo Reveals Past Tension With Cristiano Ronaldo Made Their Early Real Madrid Days Together Tough for Him

Published 04/05/2024, 1:41 AM EDT

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Arguably, there is no bromance as good as that of Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo. Their chemistry on and off the pitch and goal celebration are nothing but iconic. The Brazilian once dribbled past five rival players and set up CR7 for a goal instead of scoring what could have been the greatest goal of his career. These are a few of the warmest episodes between the deadly Blancos duo. But, did the Al Nassr skipper befriend the Madrid legend in their first meeting? Save befriending, the two got into a physical confrontation in their first meeting during a Brazil-Portugal match!

Marcelo now reveals that this infamous memory with Ronaldo haunted him in the Madrid locker room during his early days with the Spanish giant.

Marcelo was scared of being expelled from Madrid after Cristiano Ronaldo’s signing

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Marcelo got candid about his iconic Real Madrid days during his recent appearance on Podpah Podcast. At one point, the Fluminense defender spoke about struggling to cope in a Madrid locker room with Cristiano Ronaldo. A month ago I quarreled with him [Ronaldo], and now they are signing him. It seems that they [Real Madrid] will expel me from the club, but we did not apologize to each other. So what happened happened and it was part of the match, and we did not talk about it,” said Marcelo.

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While Marcelo did not have the best locker room memories with Ronaldo initially, his performance on the field was a different story. Instead of expelling Marcelo, Real Madrid gave him more chances as a creative left full-back since the Portuguese star’s arrival. Marcelo paired up with Ronaldo by consistently setting him up for goals. The Brazilian would eventually lead the Blancos in assists in the 2009-10 season- CR7’s first season in Madrid. While speaking on the Podpah podcast, Marcelo recalled his fight with Ronaldo and termed it a “Funny situation.” Let’s also explore what happened during that infamous first meeting.

What happened in Marcelo and Ronaldo’s first encounter?

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Cristiano Ronaldo first crossed paths with Marcelo in an international match between Brazil and Portugal. The Ronaldo-led Portugal was playing a losing game against Marcelo’s side. In the 81st minute of the game, Ronaldo was seen suddenly arguing with Marcelo. It is unclear what triggered the clash. Perhaps the duo might have talked trash. Anyhow, Ronaldo went chest to chest with the Brazilian full-back and even grabbed him by his throat and pushed him away. That night, Brazil ousted Portugal with a 6-2 scoreline.

Years later, as Marcelo pointed out, the two never spoke of the infamous scuffle. However, despite not talking and clearing things out, the Madrid duo built one of the most colorful friendships the beautiful game has ever seen. What are your thoughts on Marcelo’s revelation? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by:

Krishna Prasad M

980Articles

One take at a time

Krishna Prasad is Soccer Writer at EssentiallySports. Unlike others, his journey as a sports enthusiast was not colored by soccer initially. The 2006 FIFA World Cup, however, changed his perspective, as the beautiful game took up a small space in his heart.
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Edited by:

Sreeda U M