Marcelo Andrés Valencia Saraiva (born 17 May 2002) is a Guatemalan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga Nacional club Antigua.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marcelo Andrés Valencia Saraiva | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-05-17) 17 May 2002 (age 20) | ||
| Place of birth | Guatemala | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Antigua | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2017 | Flamengo | ||
| 2017–2020 | Internacional | ||
| 2021–2022 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022- | Antigua | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2019 | Guatemala U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2019– | Guatemala | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 January 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 January 2021 | |||
Saraiva joined the Nottingham Forest under-23's side on 7 January 2021, signing a contract until June 2022.[1] Saraiva had previously played with Brazilian sides Flamengo[2] and Internacional, but left the latter club in September 2020 to pursue opportunities in Europe following a successful application for a Portuguese passport.[3] On 10 June 2022, Nottingham Forest announced that Saraiva would be leaving the club once his contract expired.[4]
Saraiva has represented Guatemala at the under-17 level in 2019, before playing with the senior Guatemala national team against Puerto Rico in the CONCACAF Nations League in November 2019.[3][5]
Marcelo is the son of former Brazilian footballer Marcelo Henrique Saraiva and Lourdes Valencia, who belongs to a family of renowned Guatemalan footballers including Everaldo Valencia, who also played for the Guatemalan National Team.