Real Madrid may be without star defender Marcelo when the team faces Chelsea in a Champions League match next week and the potential absence is for an unusual reason.
Marcelo, a star Brazilian defender and starting fullback for Los Blancos, was selected by the the Spanish government to work at the polls on May 4, when there will be elections for seats in the Madrid Assembly, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
El Mundo reported that Marcelo was “very upset by his electoral luck.”
All registered voters in Spain are eligible to be selected to work at the polls. And while Marcelo was born in Brazil, he has been a Spanish citizen for a decade, according to The New York Times.
While Real Madrid’s match against Chelsea is set for May 5, the team is scheduled to travel to London on the day of the election. Because of COVID-19 protocols, it may not be possible for Marcelo to make the trip on game day.
Real Madrid and Chelsea tied their first leg, 1-1. Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic became only the third American player to feature in the Champions League semifinals in the draw, and he also is the first American to score in a Champions League semifinal.
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