Real Madrid: Why Marcelo and Isco need to leave in 2021

Real Madrid has needed a major rebuild for a couple of seasons now but have been hampered due to several reasons. One of them has been their inability to move players past their prime off from the squad. While that has partly been down to not recognizing the right time to sell the players, it also has more to do with players not wanting to leave or getting decent offers.

Two players who fall in the latter criteria are Marcelo and Isco, two incredible players during their prime. Marcelo is unarguably the best LB in Real Madrid’s history and was a key part of the three-peat side. His excellent partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo down the left side was one of our best goal creation tactics.

Isco on the other hand, has flitted in and out of the team for the majority of his Real Madrid career but played a major role in the 16-17 super team and was a key player during the three-peat. He also played under Julen Lopetegui but fell out with Santiago Solari and has never really recovered from it. There have been some bright sparks from him since then, but he failed to turn it into good performances consistently.

The two players have been amazing when at their best but haven’t been good enough for the team in a while. Both are plagued with different issues and are at a point where they need to move on for the good of the team and themselves.

Why Marcelo can’t stay at Real Madrid

With Marcelo, his problems lie with the lack of defensive effort. While he has always been a fullback with huge defensive issues, his offensive talent more than made up for it. The issue was shrugged off even more thanks to Sergio Ramos’ always covering up for the fullback’s marauding runs.

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But ever since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure and the clubs’ inability to replace that void, the team has needed to focus more on defense.

Marcelo has failed to adjust in this shift to a defensive style and has looked out of place more often than not. And with Ferland Mendy’s emergence, he lost his position as a starter in the team.

To add to this, his offensive abilities have also taken a hit with age. While only 33, he has not looked fit to start even the smaller games in the schedule.

His place as the backup left-back was also taken over by Miguel Gutiérrez at the end of last season, as the youngster repaid Zidane’s trust in him in full, deputizing extremely well for Mendy.

Unfortunately, the longer Marcelo stays here, the more his brilliant legacy at Real Madrid gets tarnished.

Fans have already started to turn against the Brazilian, and everyone knows the fans in the Santiago Bernabeu are unforgiving.

Real Madrid selling Isco could be best for the player, too

Isco on the other hand is only 29 and seemingly has much of his prime years still left in front of him. His performances though have been the exact opposite of a player in his prime. There have only been a handful of performances from Isco over the past two years that could be called great, which is poor for a player of his caliber.

While Isco can be recovered, it’s a risk that the club mustn’t take, especially considering he fills a spot that has younger replacements ready to take over. The club has already made the similar mistake of keeping a player instead of moving on at the right time multiple times.

This could be the last summer the club can get a decent price for the Spaniard and free up wages to reduce the stress on the clubs’ finance. A change in scenery might also help Isco to regain his confidence and get back to his best form. He’s a player far from being finished and with playing time can become good again.

Next. The 5 players Real Madrid should have never sold. dark

With the pre-season for the team already started, it’s best for the club to sell players as soon as possible to help Carlo Ancelotti decide on his playing eleven in time for the start of the season. Hopefully, the club manages to get good offers for the two and move on.

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