Real Madrid have been inconsistent right from the start of the season. The failure to replace Cristiano Ronaldo and the defensive vulnerabilities have coupled to haunt them back as they sit third in the La Liga table.
Following a poor start under Julen Loptegui, the former Spain manager was relieved from his duties after the 5-1 drubbing in the El Classico. Even though they have qualified for the knockouts of the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League, the Los Blancos have been failing to hit the door hard with consistency.
There are plenty of stars who have passed their prime in the current reigning European Champions squad including their left-back Marcelo. The Brazilian has been in and out of the starting eleven under Santiago Solari.
Marcelo has not started for the Los Blancos since the 2-0 defeat to Real Sociedad on January 6, losing his spot to Sergio Reguilon. The 22-year-old was promoted from Real Castilla this season but has gone on to make 10 appearances for the first team.
Italian publication CalcioMercato reported that Real Madrid’s top scorer wants the full-back alongside him at the Juventus stadium. In fact, the Portuguese International has also spoken his admiration for his former teammate because of the strong mentality he possesses.
As Real Madrid play Girona in the Copa Del Rey Quarterfinals, Solari said that Marcelo’s love for the club is not put in doubt. But the Spaniard reiterated that if he fails to perform well, losing the place to his fellow colleague is normal in football.
Santiago Solari in the pre-match press conference said “His love for the club and his commitment to the club and his joy at training are undoubted, and his behaviour is impeccable. All these things must be praised.
“It’s always a difficult task to pick the team.”
“What happens in private stays in private.
“But competition within the squad is an essential part of football. Everyone must feel they have an opportunity and can lose their place [if they don’t do well].”
After all, it’s human nature to grow older and lose pace as the day progresses. There is no doubt that the Brazilian has suffered a setback with defensive balance, but there will be times when Solari would need his experience at the backline.
It will be interesting to see if Juventus will go for Marcelo given his age. They already have a young full-back Alex Sandro in their ranks.
With a comfortable win over Sevilla to leapfrog over them in the League table, the Los Blancos are in decent form and will play Girona in the Copa Del Rey on Thursday.
“Girona are having a very good season, they’re very dangerous on the counter-attack.
“We want to repeat what we showed against Sevilla [on Saturday], when we played a very complete game, and we must bring that to the team in the Copa.”
