Bad timing (©AFP)
Bad timing (©AFP)

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

Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 28.04.21. | 16:53

Real Madrid defender is due to attend election-day duties in Spain on the same day his team is scheduled to fly to London

Footballers are quick to remind us that they’re only humans – especially when their on-pitch performances are less than satisfactory. However, Marcelo’s latest woe goes a step further – it shows us that the players are sometimes required to complete mundane tasks just like the next guy.

The Brazilian star hasn’t excelled in Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday and will probably be stripped of the chance to improve. Not because coach Zinedine Zidane wouldn’t play him again, but because he’ll be busy – with electoral duty.

Unless Marcelo is excused from his election-day duties, he will be unable to travel with the team the day before the game. According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Real Madrid had appealed to the Electoral Commission but the request was denied.

All Spanish nationals on the electoral register are liable to be called up to work at polling stations, for which they are paid around 8,500 KSh, and require special set circumstances to be excused.

It’s ironic that Marcelo, just like many other South American players, are desperate to receive Spanish citizenship so they wouldn’t take up La Liga’s quota for foreign players. They probably don’t consider that receiving the passport of the European county comes with its own set of requirements – voting poll duty included.


tags

Real MadridMarceloUEFA Champions League

Other News