Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo grew to become close friends both on and off the pitch during their time together at Real Madrid. Their chemistry was visible to the naked eye and when Ronaldo waved farewell to Los Blancos, it wasn't a surprise that the Brazilian was tipped to follow him to Juventus.
The Brazilian is constantly linked with a Serie A switch to reunite with the Portuguese superstar. However, the Selecao ace himself has stepped out to pour water over those rumors.
In a video on his official YouTube channel, the Bernabeu ace talked about an array of topics. The most interesting was the exit of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner and his perspective on life with the Champions League holder.
Marcelo admitted that the loss of the 33-year-old came as a huge surprise. However, he echoed the responses of other team-mates and insisted that no man is bigger than the club while still lavishing his former team-mate with praise.
"Ending our holidays and coming back to the routine of Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo was a surprise for us, we thought he wouldn't go," Marcelo said, as per Marca.
"Real Madrid is a huge club, Cristiano Ronaldo is huge too, but the club is bigger than any player.
"The history of Real Madrid is impressive and Cristiano Ronaldo added a piece more to the history of this club, but Real Madrid can't stop.
"The player changes club, stops playing, retires and Real Madrid will still be here."
The South American also opened up about the club's poor form. They had gone five games without a win prior to the unimpressive 2-1 Champions League victory. This has heaped pressure on newly-appointed manager Julen Lopetegui, with several sources claiming he's close to being sacked.
Next up for Real Madrid is El Clasico and they know a poor result against Barcelona could spell disaster for their Spanish Primera Division campaign. Nonetheless, the left-back issued a rallying cry ahead of Sunday's crucial tie.
"We will try to turn the situation on its head, as we aren't very bad but we want to improve," he added.
"Lopetegui is trying to do everything possible to take Real Madrid as high as possible, where we have to be."
Marcelo, who is fighting to be fit for the highly-anticipated weekend clash, also stressed that his goal continues to be enjoying European success despite their three consecutive triumphs. This hints that he favors staying at Santiago Bernabeu.
This should be taken with a pinch of salt, though, as many players have sworn their allegiance to a club only to leave a while later. Only time will tell what Marcelo plans on doing in the upcoming transfer windows.
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