"It's hard to tell your son that the coach doesn't count on you"

Marcelo spoke to 'ESPN' about his last year at Real Madrid, the lack of playing time and getting used to not being important in Carlo Ancelotti's plans.

"I knew I wasn't a starter and I said, 'What can I do to help the team?' I was f***ed up about not playing. There's no player who says he's happy to be on the bench. And if he says that, he's lying. It's impossible," said the Brazilian.

Marcelo explained that he trained "very hard because I was always clashing with Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez". "I helped my team-mates by competing in training, and I felt very useful. My way of being and my joy also contributed a lot," he added.

"It's hard to be captain and not play. And to tell your son that the coach doesn't count on you, but that season was the best because I learned a lot as a human being," he said.

Marcelo considers Real Madrid his home, where he has "learned all the values of the club". "I learned from Casillas, Raul, Ramos... leaving home was difficult, but I feel I haven't left Madrid. I'm not at Madrid now, but I haven't left. I see myself coming back, trying to help the kids," said the full-back.

"I always live in the moment and the moment is now. I only have words of thanks to all those who have surrounded me. They have always helped me to feel like me. Football has a part that makes you feel more than you are. You win titles at 18 and you can make mistakes, but you have to have people who put your feet on the ground," said Marcelo.

The Brazilian has left a good legacy of players from his country at Madrid, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Militao: "They have been patient and now we see the results. And the same goes for Fede. When Fede was at Castilla and was coming up for training, as a kid, Casemiro and I were already talking about him".