Ex-Flamengo man announces retirement again, here's why | OneFootball

Having played for Flamengo, Marcelo Moreno did something unusual in his career

Marcelo Moreno has retired. No, Coluna do Fla has not gone back to the year 2023, when the striker hung up his boots. The point is that the Bolivian, who returned to action in 2026 for just three months, has stopped playing again, this time for good, after a failed attempt to make it to the World Cup.

The striker’s biggest dream in his career was to play in the World Cup. During the years he represented the Bolivia national team, he never came close to qualifying the side for the tournament. However, in 2026, the team made it to the intercontinental playoff, ending up ‘one step’ away from the competition.

So Marcelo Moreno decided to return to playing in 2026 with a single goal: to be called up by Bolivia for the playoff matches. With that in mind, the player signed for Oriente Petrolero (BOL). However, everything went wrong for the striker. That is because the national team’s all-time leading scorer was not called up by coach Eduardo Villegas, and the team lost its World Cup spot to Jordan.

WHAT WAS MARCELO MORENO’S ANNOUNCEMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

“Thank you for everything, Oriente Petrolero. My first professional club, my last club in my career. To all the fans, I will carry you in my heart forever,” the striker wrote in a social media post alongside a video of his final matches for the club.

View this photo on Instagram A post shared by Marcelo Moreno Martins | M9 (@marcelo_moreno)

This season, at 38 years old, Marcelo Moreno scored six goals in five matches played. With that high scoring rate, the striker did not hide his frustration at being left out of the playoff squad. In fact, after one match, the former Flamengo player took a jab at the national team coach.

— My two goals, one from the penalty spot and the other with a header, I dedicate to Villegas. They are for you. Goals are what give you victory, and that’s what was missing in the playoff. He had to give me the opportunity as a player with 17 years in the national team. I sacrificed myself to be there, and I’m simply saying that he made a mistake. It’s all his fault. We should have been at the World Cup, the players gave everything they had. We have to wait and see whether he will be fired or not — Marcelo Moreno said in April.

HOW WAS MARCELO MORENO AT FLAMENGO?

Signed as the ‘solution to Flamengo’s problems’ in 2013, Marcelo Moreno disappointed. The Bolivian scored only four goals and provided one assist in 20 matches. At the time, the center forward ended up on the bench behind the then-unknown Hernane Brocador, who shone that season and led Mengão to a third Copa do Brasil title.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.