Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos has revealed he will not renew his contract at Real Madrid and leave at the end of the season, following 11 years of top-flight football in which he has witnessed several ups and downs of the ‘Galacticos’.

"I'm not going to renew my contract. I think the moment has come for me to put an end to my time at the club and leave them to start a new project," 33-year-old Carlos has told Spanish sports daily Marca.

"I'm sure about it. My time at Real Madrid has ended. After three years without winning anything I had to take a decision.

"My departure will help the youngsters like Marcelo and Miguel Torres," he said. "They are the future and have to be given a chance to develop. I have to look for motivation in another team, another country, another place."

Carlos, who retired from international football following severe criticism of his World Cup performance last year, is yet to decide where he wants to continue playing club football.

"I don't know whether I will continue in Europe or maybe I need to be back in Brazil close to my family.”

Carlos, who joined Real from Inter Milan in 1996 when the current boss Fabio Capello was in his first spell as the coach at the Bernabeu, has won three European Cups, three league titles and two World Club Cups at Madrid. He has scored 45 goals in the league and 15 in the Champions League.

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