Marcelo honoured to be named Madrid captain
Marcelo is convinced Real Madrid will get back to winning trophies in the new season after he was named as the club's captain.
The Brazilian left-back takes the leadership role from Sergio Ramos, who left the Spanish giant to join Paris Saint-Germain, and said he felt "extremely lucky" to be chosen.
At the age of 33, Marcelo will hope to be a mainstay under Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is back in charge at Los Blancos after Zinedine Zidane left without much silverware from the 2020-2021 campaign.
It is Ancelotti's second crack at the Madrid job, after a prior spell covering two seasons from 2013 to 2015. Capturing the LaLiga crown that Atletico Madrid snatched last term will be a priority.
Marcelo said: "We're aware that it's very tough to go through a season without winning a title, but we fought 'til the end of the season.
"I'm sure we're going to win something. We're very happy, we've still got players to come back from international duty or on holiday, but we're very motivated for the season to start."
Despite only starting 12 LaLiga games during that barren final season of Zidane's reign, Marcelo was an understandable choice as Ancelotti targeted a dressing-room leader, given he is coming up to 15 years of service at Madrid, having signed for the club from Fluminense in December 2006.
"It's an honour and an enormous responsibility to be captain of the greatest club in the world. I'm extremely lucky," Marcelo said.
"I learn a lot every season, there's always something new. I'm even more excited about this campaign because I'm Real Madrid captain. It's a dream come true for me and I believe I've done everything I can to be here for such a long time.
"I believe that as captain I'm the spokesperson for the team and I'll always look to help as much as I can, just like I've always done."