Marcelo is approaching the end of his 13th season as a Real Madrid player, but Predrag Mijatovic has revealed that Fabio Capello wanted the Blancos to “give up” on the Brazilian before he had even got going.
Back in 2007, Roberto Carlos was still very much the main man at Santiago Bernabeu when it came to filling a left-back berth.
The World Cup winner was, however, past his peak and Madrid were in the market for a suitable successor.
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They looked to another Brazilian for inspiration, with Marcelo’s potential bought into as a relatively untested teenager.