Marcelo

LaLiga was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 crisis but the league will return with the derby between Sevilla and Real Betis on June 11.

On Friday, Spain's Higher Council of Sport (CSD) said it had agreed the resumption plans with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and LaLiga.

The CSD issued a statement that confirmed plans for the season to end on July 18-19.

Madrid were two points behind defending champions and leaders Barcelona with 11 rounds remaining.

"We'd 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," Brazilian full-back Marcelo told Real Madrid TV. "Now we're close to getting going again and we can't wait.

"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."

Los Blancos revealed on Wednesday that Luka Modric and Marcelo had gone into quarantine after returning positive test results for the virus.

Having also seen positive cases appear in the basketball team, Madrid-based newspaper Marca reported on Thursday morning that the club were fearing a full-blown outbreak at their Valdebebas training base.

The first team now has at least seven members of the playing and coaching staff with coronavirus.

Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Andriy Lunin and Rodrygo are the latest players to have contracted COVID-19, while Carlo Ancelotti's son and technical assistant Davide was the one coach named on the list.

All will be absent for Madrid's final two matches of 2021 – the visit of Cadiz on Sunday and trip to Athletic Bilbao three days later.

However, there also remains the possibility that Madrid's matches are postponed either on medical grounds or due to a lack of players if there are further positive cases confirmed.

Paulo Dybala, Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria, Antonio Rudiger and Boubacar Kamara have already moved as free agents in this window.

With just a couple of days to go before the deadline, there remain some notable names looking for clubs.

Let's take a look...

Marcelo (34 years old – last club: Real Madrid)

It is not often the Champions League-winning captain of the previous campaign is without a club at the start of the new season, but that has been the case for Marcelo.

Admittedly, the left-back – a five-time European champion – was firmly behind Ferland Mendy in the pecking order last term, starting only seven games in all competitions.

However, Marcelo said upon leaving Madrid: "I won't retire, not now. I feel I can still play. Facing Real Madrid won't be a problem. I'm a big Madridista, but I'm also a big professional."

Juan Mata (34 – last club: Manchester United)

Mata is another hugely experienced and hugely talented player who has not yet clinched what may be the final move of a fine career.

The Spaniard spent eight and a half years at United but only once did he start over 30 league games for the club in a single season. He appeared in United's Premier League starting XI on only 16 occasions across the past three campaigns combined.

Still, a switch from United to bitter rivals Leeds United would have been a controversial one, and reports of the Elland Road outfit's interest in Mata were reportedly swiftly dismissed by sources, leaving him still without a club.

Djibril Sidibe (30 – last club: Monaco)

Sidibe's stock was really quite high after winning Ligue 1 with Monaco in 2017, and he added a World Cup medal with France 12 months later.

However, the right-back did not follow team-mates like Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva and Fabinho in quitting Monaco, instead sticking around to see interest in his signature wane.

An uninspiring loan spell with Everton did little to boost Sidibe's profile, but he is still a good age as he looks for another club.

Ross Barkley (28 – last club: Chelsea)

Barkley still had a contract with Chelsea heading into the final week of the window, but the Blues agreed to cut short a hugely disappointing four-and-a-half-year stint at Stamford Bridge.

Having secured an exit from Everton, the midfielder never recreated his Goodison Park form on the big stage, with a loan move to Aston Villa starting brightly before quickly fading.

Barkley was a key man for England as recently as 2019, though, and there will surely be a club willing to take the risk, with Rangers heavily linked.

Florian Grillitsch (27 – last club: Hoffenheim)

Perhaps the pick of the remaining free agents, Grillitsch is on the market because he chose to be, for Hoffenheim would have been very keen to keep a player of his talents.

Yet the midfielder is still waiting on his next club, revealing to Kicker he had changed his agent amid suggestions of unrealistic financial demands.

"Certain things have been extremely unfortunate recently," Grillitsch said, with the failure to land a deal to this point perhaps meaning potential suitors could instead land a bargain.

Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017, but has been linked with a return to Camp Nou and a possible blockbuster switch to Madrid.

Carlos, a Madrid and Brazil great, said he wanted Neymar at the Santiago Bernabeu long ago.

"If it were up to me, [Neymar] would already be here a long time ago, but life is not how one would like it," Carlos told Fox Sports Radio.

"These great players always have to play for the best clubs in the world. Real Madrid today is a reference for any player.

"Do you want to win the Champions League? Come to Real Madrid."

Carlos won four LaLiga titles and three Champions Leagues with Madrid, while he was also a 2002 World Cup winner with Brazil.

Madrid's current left-back, Marcelo, has been out of favour with Brazil, with his last international appearance coming at the 2018 World Cup.

Carlos hopes the 31-year-old can eventually make a return for the national team.

"Everyone deserves a new opportunity and I think Marcelo is growing again to be the Marcelo I saw play, with joy, who does things that only he can do on the field," he said.

"I hope he returns to the national team and disputes the position with Filipe [Luis], Alex Sandro and Renan Lodi."

Marcelo held an emotional news conference on Monday to say farewell to Madrid, where he spent 15 years and lifted 25 trophies – making him the club's most decorated player in terms of honours.

A large part of that period of success came alongside Ronaldo with the pair forging a superb relationship down the left side that was decisive in the club's years of domination in the Champions League.

That spell also saw Ronaldo become the club's all-time leading scorer before he left for Juventus and now Manchester United, and the Portugal great still holds his former colleague in the highest regard.

"More than a team-mate, a brother that football gave me," he posted on social media.

"On and off the fields, one of the biggest stars with whom I had the pleasure of sharing a locker room.

"Go with everything on this new adventure, Marcelo!"

Marcelo, 34, confirmed he does not plan to retire and would have no problem facing Real Madrid if he was to tackle them as an opponent.

"I won't retire, not now," he said. "I feel I can still play. Facing Real Madrid won't be a problem. I'm a big Madridista but I'm also a big professional."