Real Madrid bid farewell to the Brazilian legend Marcelo, after he announced today, Thursday, he retired from football.

"After Marcelo announced his retirement as a professional football player, Real Madrid's football club wants to express his gratitude and love. Marcelo is part of Real Madrid's history and one of the great myths of our club and world football."

He added: "Marcelo joined Real Madrid in 2006, when he was 18 years old, and he was a major player in one of the most successful periods in 122 years of our history. During the sixteen seasons in which he defended our shirt and our shield, he won 25 titles in 546 games: 5 European cups, 4 club cups for clubs, 3 European Super Cups, 6 League Cups, 2 Cup of Spain and 5 Spanish Super Cups.

He continued: "On the individual level, Marcelo, as a player in Real Madrid, was chosen as part of the FIFA squad on six occasions."

He added: "In addition to his titles with Real Madrid, Marcelo was crowned the 2013 Confederations Cup champion with the Brazilian national team, with whom he also won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games and the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games."

He continued: "With Fluminness, he won the Libertadores Cup once and the Ricoba Sudana Cup once."

"Marcelo is the third foreign player who played the largest number of matches with Real Madrid. He was one of the scorers in the tenth cup final in Lisbon and the captain who raised the tenth cup in Paris. His amazing football performance and the player's memories will remain everything for this shirt that Real Madrid's values ​​are forever in the hearts of all Real Madrid fans. "

"Marcelo is one of the greatest players in the left back in Real Madrid and world football, and we have had the honor to enjoy it for a long time," said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. "It is one of our greatest myths, and Real Madrid is his homeland and will remain so forever."

He concluded: "Real Madrid wishes him and all his family members all the best in this new stage of his life."