Real Madrid young player Marc Cucalon has announced the end of his career at just 19 years old after battling in vain against bacteria that attacked the cartilage in his right knee following an injury in 2022.
A tackle more than two years ago ended his dreams of a successful career. Marc Cucalon, young midfielder from the Real Madrid training center, published a long and moving text on his Instagram account on Tuesday to announce his heartbreaking decision to hang up his boots at just 19 years old. Everything finally stopped on September 6, 2022 during a Real Madrid Youth League match at Celtic Glasgow (0-6). In a tackle from an opponent, Cucalon suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee. A fairly common injury in football which gives hope for a return around nine months later.
“This injury forced me to make the difficult decision to say goodbye to football”
But a bacteria caught during the operation caused an infection in the knee, affecting the cartilage of the joint. After months of battle, he finally gave up in the face of pain. “After several complications, this injury forced me to make the difficult decision to say goodbye to football, at least in the way I had always dreamed of,” he wrote on Instagram. “Over the past two years, I have fought physically and mentally with all my strength and tried everything in my power to enjoy this sport again, but it has not been possible to “But don't get me wrong: it's not a sad goodbye at all.”
“After all, I think I was really privileged to be part of the best club in the world and to have lived a dream,” he continued. “I learned and matured as a person and as a player. I will take with me for the rest of my life the values that were instilled in me and, of course, football taught me learned in every victory and in every defeat: you must always continue to fight to overcome obstacles. These lessons will be part of my life forever.”
“Now I have a new stage before me, a new life in which I am sure that I will apply all the experiences that have marked me until today,” he adds. “And I do it with the same enthusiasm and motivation with which I have worn the Real Madrid jersey all these years. Because with this club I want to conclude this message of gratitude: thank you, Real Madrid, for not never let go of my hand. And thank you to all the people who supported me from the first moment.”
Several members of the club paid tribute to him on social networks including Alvaro Arbeloa, former player of the club who trained Marc Cucalon with the reserves. “You don’t know how many times this match comes to mind,” he wrote. “It's hard for me not to think about the great player you were (and already were) going to be, but you always have to look to the future. You know better than anyone, you deserve the best, Marc, we will always be here for whatever you need.”
