“More than a teammate, a brother football gave me” - Cristiano Ronaldo pens heartfelt note for Marcelo as he leaves Real Madrid 

Cristiano Ronaldo has sent Real Madrid legend Marcelo a message after his exit from the club. The Portuguese star posted a photo on Instagram and wrote a heartfelt caption to wish his former teammate.

The Brazilian defender has announced his exit from Real Madrid after 15 years at the club. He has confirmed that he will not be retiring from the game (via The Athletic) yet but has not picked his next club.

Cristiano Ronaldo posted a photo of the two from their Real Madrid days and captioned it:

"Mais do que um companheiro de equipa, um irmão que o futebol me deu. Dentro e fora dos campos, um dos maiores craques com quem tive o prazer de partilhar um balneário. Vai com tudo nessa nova aventura, Marcelo! 🙌🏽🙏🏽👊🏽"

The caption translates to:

"More than a teammate, a brother that football gave me. On and off the fields, one of the biggest stars with whom I had the pleasure of sharing a locker room. Go with everything on this new adventure, Marcelo! 🙌🏽🙏🏽👊🏽"

Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo won the Champions League four times together at Real Madrid, with another two La Liga titles under their belt. The duo also won the Copa Del Rey twice and the FIFA Club World Cup thrice.

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Real Madrid's Marcelo on Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid legend Marcelo shared a great relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo on and off the pitch. The Brazilian admitted that the two got off on the wrong side when they first met but became close once they were teammates.

He said (as quoted by Tribuna):

"He knows what is best for himself. As a friend, not only as a teammate, the decision he makes this year, next year, or in a decade, I will be there to support him. The first time I saw Ronaldo, we ended up fighting in an international fixture. But we have a very good relationship, not only on the pitch, also off it. He is a great professional, he also helps his teammates very much, and he is happy when a teammate scores or provides an assist."

Marcelo won 25 trophies during his time at Real Madrid and will become a free agent at the end of this month. He made 545 appearances for the club with 38 goals and 103 assists to his name. He developed into one of the world's finest left-backs at Real Madrid after arriving from Fluminense as a teenager in 2007.

It remains to be seen where the legendary Brazilian heads next.