Marco Melandri thinks Ducati ‘market commitment’ could tempt ‘tired’ Marc Marquez to retire

Due to the need for surgery on his leg, Marquez underwent another operation to remove two screws and bone fragments in his right shoulder. In the year Marquez’s accident at the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix caused the screws to go in with his lateral jet surgery in 2015. He changed it back in 2019.

Marco Melandri thinks Marc Marquez injury and Ducati marketing commitment could lead to retirement

Ducati team manager David Tardozzi noticed this “Everything went well” on Marquez’s latest surgeries. The 33-year-old had already planned to have surgery on his shoulder after the Catalan GP, ​​as a recent scan showed that the tendons were pushing on the radial nerve.

Read more: Marc Marquez’s five biggest MotoGP crashes

however, Melandri he said. reaping He suspects Marquez’s latest injury may play on the seven-time MotoGP champion’s mind and tempt him to consider retirement, especially given the change in the Spaniard’s behavior this year.

on the Marquez is struggling in the corners due to a shoulder injury.With problems on the track preventing him from riding consistently, Melandri suggests that Ducati’s marketing commitment has rubbed off on the Cervera native, who, as ever, “isn’t smiling”.

“I believe he was deeply hopeful that things would get better and better in time,” Melandri said. “As things were not improving, he went for an examination after Jerez and discovered a bent sclete, possibly at risk of damaging a nerve.

“Was he planning on doing the surgery? The nerve is fixed, not the bone. The nerve, if you damage it, you won’t find it.”

“In short, there was not much time to wait. And if he planned it, he definitely wanted to fix things as soon as possible. In my opinion, this is an interpretation, and it is very simple, but it always depends on how you want to see things.

“Actually, it’s a different matter. Did Ducati know or not? Could it be that Marc tried to keep the whole thing under wraps, knowing that he had to formalize the contract with Borgo Pangale?”

“I’m not sure if he’s going to continue or not. I see him smiling, not tired. He spent all his mental and physical energy left in the last year.

“I don’t know how much all these marketing commitments will weigh on him and wear him down. If you think about it, he’s always been able to do quite a bit with Honda, but now with Ducati it’s different.”

If Marc Marquez retires after 2026, is Fabio Di Giannantonio now in the best position to succeed him at Ducati?

Marquez’s future in 2026 remains a topic of discussion as the 73-time MotoGP Grand Prix winner is out of contract at the end of the season. However, it is said that it is. Marquez has already signed a new contract with Ducati It will keep him in Borgo Pangale until 2028.

The Bullets of Bologna and rival manufacturers have agreed to delay announcing their 2027 line-up until they reach a new commercial deal with MotoGP, with Ducati yet to confirm Marquez’s new contract. The current mutual trade agreement expires in 2026.

However, it’s hard to rule out Marquez retiring from the Italian factory if he feels that his eventual injury and perhaps Ducati’s marketing actions are a sign that he needs to go. If Marquez were to retire, Ducati would likely be left with other commitments.

It is widely believed Francesco Bagnaia has signed with Aprilia for 2027 After Ducati signed KTM’s Pedro Acosta to become two-time MotoGP champion. Now it is being called VR 46 Rider. Fabio Di Giannantonio will follow Alex Marquez to KTM For the next season.