As Liverpool prepare for Saturday’s FA Cup final with Chelsea, one of the biggest dilemmas Jurgen Klopp has to face is regarding who starts at centre-back, with Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate both vying for a place alongside Virgil van Dijk at Wembley. Thankfully for the Reds boss, the situation he finds himself in is stark contrast to last season, however.
Liverpool infamously saw their Premier League title defence fall apart after losing both Van Dijk and Matip, along with Joe Gomez, to season-ending injuries, as Klopp was left without any senior centre-backs for over half the campaign as a result. In their absence, the German turned to midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson as well as youngsters Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams, but once the January transfer window opened, the club had little choice but to add to the ranks.
On transfer deadline day, the Reds snapped up Ben Davies from Championship side Preston North End in a cut-price deal and brought in Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke. However, the duo weren’t the only centre-backs Liverpool looked at, with Marseille’s Duje Caleta-Car reportedly left waiting at the airport for permission, which never came, to fly to England to complete a deal.
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The Croatian wasn’t the only alternative the Reds held talks with, though. Then-Lyon defender Marcelo claimed in February 2021 Liverpool spoke to his agent and offered a six-month deal, only for him to snub their advances in favour of staying in France despite his contract expiring the following summer.
“I hope we will find a solution soon. I feel good here,” he told Canal Plus last year. “I feel that I can give more to Lyon. Over time, I hope that we will find a good solution. Liverpool? My agent spoke with them, but I feel good here. My dream is to win the championship with Lyon.”
Marcelo would ultimately sign a new contract with Lyon soon after and, with Liverpool signing Konate from RB Leipzig in a £36m deal that summer, that was understandably the end of any Reds interest in the ageing Brazilian.
However, despite penning fresh terms with the Ligue 1 outfit, the 34-year-old was expelled from the Lyon first-team squad in mysterious circumstances last August, with his demotion to the reserves confirmed in a club statement, citing “inappropriate behaviour” with regards to an unspecified dressing room incident after the club’s 3-0 defeat to Angers - a game in which Marcelo had scored an own goal.
“Olympique Lyonnais informs that following its defeat in Angers and the analysis which was made by the stakeholders of the Sports Department and its coach Peter Bosz, it was decided that its player Marcelo would take part in from that day to the training sessions of the PRO 2 group, also composed of many other players under professional contract and led by Gueida Fofana and Jeremie Brechet, under the permanent supervision of Peter Bosz and his staff,” the club stated at the time.
“Marcelo's inappropriate behaviour in the locker room, after the match played in Angers, justifies this decision taken unanimously by the entire sports management of Olympique Lyonnais. The player was informed of this decision yesterday afternoon by Juninho and Peter Bosz.
“The Sports Department of Olympique Lyonnais reminds that all of its players must demonstrate an unwavering state of mind and commitment to find results in line with the club's ambitions without delay.”
Remaining with the reserves until January, Marcelo’s contract with Lyon was then terminated, just months after he had penned the extension, and he went on to sign for struggling Bordeaux on a free transfer as he put pen to paper on a six-month deal.
Now, nine months on from his Lyon demotion, reports in France have claimed the former Liverpool target was essentially sacked for farting in the dressing room.
ESPN claim Marcelo was disciplined by the club for repeatedly farting among his team-mates and laughing in the presence of sporting director Juninho and manager Bosz. Meanwhile, they add the Brazilian was also caught laughing during captain Leo Dubois' speech to rally the troops following the game, which didn't go down well with club bosses.
Meanwhile, L’Equipe also claim that continuous flatulence led to his dismissal, reporting a fart in the dressing room that provoked laughter from his team-mates did not go down well with Bosz and Juninho, who they claim ‘was not particularly close to his compatriot’, as Lyon started the season poorly.
However, following the reports, Marcelo ended a seven-month Twitter silence, tweeting for the first time since October 2021, to slam the bizarre suggestion that he was sacked because of a fart.
“Thanks to @lequipe, after a long time, I have to come back to @Twitter to deny all the allegations. Journalism nowadays is a joke!” he wrote. With that tweet recording over 2m impressions on the social media platform, he posted a follow-up on Wednesday, sharing his bemusement at the situation.
“Thanks for the audience!” he wrote. “Nowadays, when they lie about a fart is more important than honest information. People are so weird.”
Clearly he’s never heard of the phrase, ‘he who denied it, supplied it’!
Juninho also took to Twitter to make light of the reports, retweeting Marcelo’s first post and writing, along with a number of laughing emojis: “See, I told you. Defender has to fart loud, long and stinky. Yours was only loud, then it's weak.” Marcelo would reply to his compatriot’s tweet, saying, “Kkkkkkk”.
As a result, the reason for Marcelo’s demotion and dismissal remains unspecified beyond “inappropriate behaviour”, with such events perhaps leaving Liverpool and Klopp glad that, even though he was only a potential short-term fix, the Brazilian turned down their advances in the first place.
