Marcelo Silva re-ups with RSL for 2020

Marcelo Silva is returning to Real Salt Lake for 2020 on a new multi-year contract, the club announced today in a press release.

The news started floating around in early December — right around the Freddy Juarez-as-coach announcement — but an official announcement hadn’t surfaced.

This likely means the club’s center back group will stay roughly the same, barring major injury, with Silva joined by Justen Glad, Nedum Onuoha and Erik Holt.

Quotes follow from a club-issued release.

RSL general manager Elliott Fall

“Marcelo has shown himself a standout center back at the MLS level. In the last three years he has proven that he can be a high-level contributor to a winning MLS side on a weekly basis. In pairing him with Nedum Onuoha, Justen Glad, and Erik Holt, we have a group at that position that can compete with any in the league.”

RSL coach Freddy Juarez

“Marcelo is a top center back. We feel that if we want to be one of the top teams in the league, we need to have three-to-four very good center backs. He’s a guy that shows up in big games. His presence on the field gives us confidence because of his demeanor as a powerful and strong leader and he can help make our younger players better.”