Dunga plays games over Marcelo

Brazil boss lied about Marcelo's absence in his squad

Posted Thursday, March 10, 2016 by Marca.com

Real Madrid are somewhat miffed with Brazil boss Carlos Dunga. Sources at the Bernabeu club have told MARCA that the coach lied about why Marcelo was not named in the Brazil squad for their upcoming games against Uruguay (25th March) and Paraguay (29th March).

Dunga gave a press conference on 3rd March at which he named the squad for the two qualifying games for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. There, the Brazil boss said that "the national team's doctor has spoken with his Real Madrid counterpart and we have decided to rest Marcelo, who has struggled with a string of recent injuries".

According to those same sources, that conversation between the two medical teams never took place. There was no direct contact with the player himself either.

As a result of Dunga's words, there has been a wave of criticism towards Marcelo in his home country. After playing the full 90 minutes of yesterday's Champions League clash with Roma, several media sources have accused him of putting club before country. These sources base their criticism on Dunga's comments about conversations between the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) and Real Madrid that never took place.

Marcelo himself is angry with this situation. The Real Madrid full-back has always been proud to pull on his country's colours and make it a priority to join the 'Canarinha' on international duty.