One of the best “bizarre sports admin” stories of recent times has been the tale of Marcelo and Real Madrid.
The Brazilian long ago naturalised himself as a Spanish citizen to help his club with restrictions on non-EU players.
This was the week it came back to bite him though, as the Spanish state demanded their repayment for the move.
With Ferland Mendy out injured, Marcelo is back in the Madrid first team. He played Chelsea in the game in Spain, and was set to feature in the return game next week.
https://twitter.com/melchorcope/status/1388096775903395841
The twist was that he was called up to a form of jury duty – manning the polling station for Spain’s local elections this week. That would have meant missing the Chelsea game.
But according to Zinedine Zidane, who just held a press conference, the full back will be able to do his duty on Tuesday, and play with the team on Wednesday.
