Marcelo insists his Real Madrid career isn't over, but if it is, he will go down as one of their greats

On Marcelo's left thigh, just above the knee and hidden until he hitches up his shorts, there is a tattoo. A picture of the European Cup is inked into his skin. Below it are four numbers, four years, four moments when history was made: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018. There is just about room for one more, which might come in handy because on Saturday night Real Madrid's captain plays his last game for the club, and it is another European Cup final. One last date to be done.

Not that he's feeling pressure. Oh, wait, yes he is. On Tuesday afternoon, when it was put to Marcelo that he's a guy who never seems to get nervous, he shot back: «Eh? What? Who told you that?» Then he cracked up, giggling again — but this is serious, and so is he. There are always demands, and always pressure, he said, and having experienced those finals — having won four Champions League titles — doesn't change that. «That has no weight at all in a final like this,» he insisted. «Every final we have had to almost die on the pitch and this will not be any different. We have to leave our soul out there.»

If he gets on the pitch, that is. Marcelo started against Espanyol a fortnight ago, leading out the team that had just won LaLiga, and came on against Real Betis on the final weekend, but that was more reward than requirement: a chance to say goodbye to the Santiago Bernabeu, which stood and handed him an ovation when he was introduced and the captain's armband was slipped over his arm for what was likely to have been the last time.

Espanyol was only his fifth start in LaLiga this season. He has played just 99 minutes in the Champions League, spread across three substitute appearances. Nor is it only this season: in the past three seasons his league