Real Madrid News: Icon Threatens Retirement; Club Confident In Acquiring Haaland, Mbappe

Real Madrid is under threat of losing another player by the summer of 2022 after reports emerged that left-back Marcelo Vieira da Silva threatened the club with retirement if he cannot get his contract extension.

Spanish outlet Marca first reported the Brazilian’s career plans should an extension fall through, but it was also rumored that Marcelo may head back to Brazil to finish out his career with his boyhood club Fluminese.

However, the report also mentions that some people within the club are optimistic that the newly-minted Real Madrid captain will remain with the club until his eventual retirement.

His contract with Real Madrid is only until the summer of 2022, and there are no clear indications as of yet regarding his future plans.

The 33-year-old is certainly feeling the effects of having a career that spans almost 20 years by this point as his level of play has been severely hampered by injury.

Marcelo’s regression has allowed 26-year-old former Olympique Lyonnais standout Fernand Mendy to take over the starting left-back position in the games when Marcelo is out.

Real Madrid acquired the Brazilian back in 2007 at the tender age of 19 years old, who showed a ton of potential and was pegged as the replacement for aging club icon Roberto Carlos.

Los Blancos and Marcelo’s partnership turned into more than 20 trophies over the past 14 years, which became the main reason for his inheritance of the captain’s armband--the first foreign captain of Real Madrid since Federico Revuelto of Guatemala back in 1904.

Marca also disclosed in a separate report that Real Madrid is growing ever confident in securing both Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The club’s track record of consistently competing for titles in both the international and domestic leagues has piqued the interest of the highly competitive Haaland.

However, Barcelona is set to challenge Real Madrid for Haaland’s signature once his release clause becomes active in the 2022 summer transfer window.

Real Madrid does have the upper hand in this situation though as Barcelona is still reeling from the financial decisions of past manager Ronald Koeman, hampering their pursuit of Haaland.

An attacking duo containing both Mbappe and Haaland will certainly produce results that fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium have been eagerly waiting for.