Brazilian outlet IG have conducted an interesting interview with Wolverhampton Wanderers fullback Fernando Marçal, who should be on his way out of Molineux this summer.
As his contract with Wolves is about to expire, it’s no secret that he’s been in talks to return to his country, where Botafogo are the favourites to land him.
Speaking to IG, the 33-year-old admits that he’s been in talks with the Rio de Janeiro side, and basically confirmed that he’s set to join them once his deal with Wolves is over.
“We’re talking. They came to me, showed interest in counting on me, and I see it with good eyes. We are increasingly settling things and I believe this has a great chance of working. I’m very motivated to be part of this new project at Botafogo,” Marçal told IG.
“From what I have seen it seems very solid, with great ambitions, so this attracts the attention of any player, including me, and I see the great possibility to be part of this great project.”
Regarding Wolves fans who’ve been asking for Marçal to stay at the club, the player thanked them for their support, and made it clear this possibility is highly unlikely.
“I have received many messages from fans like: ‘Stay Marçal’. Winning titles is important to enter the history of a club, but without a doubt I will remain in the memory of those fans who know Marçal for his commitment and effort, who do not gives up, has no lost ball and goes to the limit. I believe this is the image that will remain of Marçal. Wolves have been a part of me, and will be very important in my history.”
Marçal also had a word about Wolves’ season, pointing out that Bruno Lage’s side should have done better in the Premier League.
“The season could certainly have gone better. I think we had a very good squad, we could easily have already qualified for European competitions, but I think the club’s strategy in the middle of the season of putting in slightly younger players to also being able to sell them ended up conditioning our performance in the race for European competitions.
“I also thank my staff, because this year thank God I didn’t have an injury. I did some work aside so that there was no injury, since last year I had to have three surgeries and it got in the way of my work, and this year the goal was not to have any injuries and it went well. I ended up playing less games than expected due to the club’s strategy of selling young players. We generally fell short of expectations.”
Marçal joined Wolves in a €2m deal from Lyon back in 2020. In the two years he stayed at Molineux, he only managed to make 32 appearances for the club, 19 of them this season.
