Right-back Mariano did not hide his sadness after ending his second spell at Atlético. The 38-year-old experienced player contract was not renewed with Galo and ended his second spell at the club after four seasons.
During an interview with the program Zona Mista, by journalist André Hernan, from UOLMariano explained part of the process that led to his departure, but did not fail to mention his gratitude to Galo.
“Football generates many things. It’s not just one person, it’s not just two people, there are other people involved too. There remains that question, one part wanted it, the other part didn’t want it and it was decided not to stay. Respect, I’m really grateful to Atlético, I have one, I was really happy”, said the player, who also expressed his desire to play at least one more season as a professional.
He stressed respect for all people at Atlético, “from those in charge up there to the employees there”. He highlighted that he wanted to stay and that “everyone knew that”, also mentioning that the whole family was adapted to Belo Horizonte and that his daughter’s departure from school “was a hell of a sacrifice”.
“But life goes on, life goes on. I’ll be rooting for them, the best ever. But, I wanted to stay, I left very sad about leaving, but not with the people”, concluded the player.
Mariano’s career and spells at Atlético
Mariano was revealed by Guarani in 2004. The player also spent time at Tombense (2007), Cruzeiro (2007), Ipatinga (2006-2008), Fluminense (2009-2011), Bordeaux-FRA (2011-2015), Sevilla-ESP (2015-2017), Galatasaray-TUR (2017-2020).
The full-back had a brief spell at the club in 2008 and returned in 2020. In his second stint, he was an important player in the 2021 Triple Crown (Mineiro, Brasileiro and Copa do Brasil), in addition to being part of the squad that won the Brazilian Super Cup (2022). ) and five state titles (2020-2024). There were 184 games and one goal scored.
In addition to the titles with Atlético, Mariano won other important championships. The full-back was champion of the Europa League (2016) with Sevilla, Brazilian Championship (2010) with Fluminense, French Cup (2013) and Turkish Championship (2018, 2019), Turkish Cup (2019) and Turkish Super Cup (2019).
