Friday, April 30, 2021 at 2:26 PM• Chris Meijer

Marcelo will ‘just’ be there next Wednesday at the return of the semi-final of the Champions League against Chelsea. The 32-year-old Brazilian fullback has been called up to help in a polling station the day before the game. Trainer Zinedine Zidane tells Friday at the press conference in the run-up to the home game against Osasuna next Saturday that Marcelo will fulfill his obligations and will be present against Chelsea.

“Marcelo will fulfill his obligations, but will be there on Wednesday,” Zidane says. It is not immediately clear whether Marcelo will travel to London on match day. Polling station workers in Spain are traditionally randomly chosen by the Spanish government. Similarly next Tuesday, when elections are held in Madrid.

El Mundo was able to report on Wednesday that Marcelo is one of the chosen citizens to help at the polling station. Victor Chust, who plays football in Real’s youth academy, is also expected at the polling station next Tuesday. In addition to Brazilian, Marcelo also has Spanish nationality and can therefore be called upon to help. It earns him a volunteer contribution of 65 euros, but also means that he cannot normally travel with Real Madrid to England on Tuesday.

Real Madrid have made every effort to ensure that Marcelo can be there against Chelsea. However, several attempts to avoid the obligations for the polling station came to nothing. Finishing a football match is not seen by the Spanish government as a valid reason for not showing up. In addition, Real Madrid will only play a day later, so that the defender can simply still fly on Wednesday, according to the authorities.

The fact that Marcelo can play against Chelsea means a stroke of luck for Zidane. Ferland Mendy is still a matter of doubt for the duel at Stamford Bridge, as he is still not training with the group due to an injury. For that reason, Marcelo had a starting place in the first game with Chelsea (1-1) on Tuesday-evening and the Brazilian fullback also wore the captain’s armband due to the absence of Sergio Ramos. Marcelo has little time to play this season, because he has only sixteen games to his name.