The farewell of a South American legend: Moreno Martins retired from football

• He is the player with the most games played and the most goals scored in the Bolivia national team.
• He is the third all-time leading scorer in CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.

On Sunday, April 7, Marcelo Moreno Martins put an end to a successful football career. The Bolivian said goodbye before the match between Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro, where they paid tribute to him.

Born in 1987, Moreno Martins played in the CONMEBOL Copa América™ four times: Argentina 2011, Chile 2015, Brazil 2019, and Brazil 2021. He scored three goals.

He was the top scorer in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022 with 10 goals and ranks third (22 goals in 63 matches) in the historical table of regional qualifiers, behind Lionel Messi (31) and Luis Suárez (29).

In his more than 15 years playing for the Verde, Moreno Martins achieved two important records: he is the player with the most appearances in the national team (108) and the top goal scorer (31).

His last match for the national team was against Uruguay on November 21, 2023, at the legendary Estadio Centenario.

At club level, the striker played for Cruzeiro (the club he retired from), Flamengo, and Gremio in Brazil; Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine; Werder Bremen in Germany; Changchun Yatai in China; Cerro Porteño in Paraguay, and Independiente del Valle in Ecuador.

A true legend of Bolivia and South American football has hung up his boots, and he will be missed on the pitch.