Grandma to the rescue: Marcelo will play against Chelsea!

The Champions League semi-final match is very important, but a duty to your county comes first. That was the situation with Real Madrid’s left back Marcelo before the Chelsea rematch, which is scheduled for Wednesday at 22h in London. The Brazilian was about to miss the match because of his obligations as a citizen in the Community of Madrid elections, before another women volunteered to replace him and saved the day.

Marcelo to miss Chelsea game – but will earn 8,500 KSh

Marcelo was about to act as a worker at the polling station in Alcobendas on the day of the match, and the club, obviously tried to find a way to release him of his duties, but remarkably, they failed. Both the club and the player had tried to convince the Electoral Board to excuse the footballer from having to be at the polling station, as the team was due to leave for London today, ahead of the big match. But, apparently the reasons for his potential absence weren’t enough, because they were not perceived as ’a force majeure’ and Marcelo had to attend his appointment at the polling station. According to La Sexta, Marcelo stayed to fulfil his obligations of being first substitute until an older woman, who was the second substitute, offered to replace him.

Then and only then the Brazilian was able to leave the meeting and return home to pick up his things and call the club to tell them he will arrive at the airport in time. We can only imagine how that ride through a packed streets of Madrid looked like...

Real Madrid will have to chase the result in London, after Chelsea drew 1-1 in Spain in the first leg, and generally played a much better game. However, unlike Tuchel and 90% of the Chelsea squad, this will be Zidane’s fourth Champions League semi-final. Real Madrid’s coach is the first (and only) manager in the world to win three consecutive Champions League titles, and there are some players in his squad who were there to witness it. Marcelo is among one of them and the Brazilian currently has four trophies. It’s a good thing for Real that he made the plane to London.