Can't wait to start playing matches, says Real Madrid's Marcelo

MADRID: Real Madrid left-back Marcelo said that the players 'can't wait' to get back to playing regular football. Spanish top-flight football league, La Liga, has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic and is now looking to resume the season from June 11.

"We had never gone so long without being able to train out on the pitch and our desire to play football has been growing ever since we stopped. Now we're close to getting going again and we can't wait," Marcelo was quoted as saying by Real Madrid's official website.

"It's been different to what we're used to. We have to take the positives from it and now we're used to the routine; it's not like it used to be but everything's good. We're all healthy, the training sessions have been fantastic in recovering our rhythm.

"Having not touched a ball for so long, when you go back out on the pitch you've lost your touch a bit, but now we just can't wait to start playing games," he added.

A number of football league's around Europe, including the French Ligue 1 where a number of Marcelo's Brazil teammates such as Neymar play, ended their seasons prematurely. However Spain's La Liga, the German Bundesliga and England's Premier League stayed put.

The Premier League is also eyeing a restart in June whereas the Bundesliga has already begun holding matches behind closed doors. IANS