Ronaldo and Marcelo played together at Real Madrid for nine years, from 2009 to 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese forward, pleasantly surprised Marcelo’s son, 8-year-old Liam Alves, on Monday with a meaningful Christmas gift. The former Real Madrid teammates, who played together for nine years from 2009 to 2018, shared a close bond on and off the field, forming one of the most formidable partnerships in football history on Los Blancos’ left flank.
In a touching gesture, Ronaldo sent Liam Alves a personally signed shirt for Christmas, prompting the young boy to express his gratitude on Instagram with a heartfelt caption. Liam posted, “Thank you so much Cris. I love you. You are my idol @cristiano.”
Although Cristiano Ronaldo departed Madrid in 2018 for Juventus, and Marcelo left the club in 2022 after achieving significant success, their enduring friendship remains evident. Ronaldo’s record-breaking move to Real Madrid in 2009 solidified a lasting camaraderie with Marcelo, resulting in numerous shared moments of joy, celebrations, and even playful pranks during training sessions and team photoshoots.
During their nine-year partnership, Ronaldo and Marcelo played side by side 332 times, collectively scoring 33 goals—25 by Ronaldo and 8 by Marcelo. Despite the passage of almost six years since they last played together, the mutual respect and strong bond between the two endure.
Marcelo’s career trajectory took a different turn after Ronaldo’s departure, with the Brazilian experiencing a decline and eventually leaving Real Madrid in 2022. He departed Manchester United in November 2022 and, after terminating his contract, joined the Saudi Pro League in January.
Speculations arose about Marcelo potentially joining Ronaldo in the Gulf country, but he opted to return to his roots in Brazil and is currently playing for Fluminense FC. Marcelo revealed that he and Ronaldo had discussed the possibility of a move to the Middle East, but ultimately, he felt compelled to return to Brazil.
“We [Marcelo and Ronaldo] talked about this some time ago. I had some proposals to leave, not just there [Al Nassr], but I needed to return here [Brazil], to my roots. Something told me that I had to go back,” Marcelo explained.