Former Los Blancos star Marcelo names 3 players who surprised him the most at Real Madrid

Real Madrid legend Marcelo sat down with ESPN's Martin Ainstein for an interview on Diarios de Bicicleta. The left-back delved deep into his 15-year stint at the illustrious Santiago Bernabeu, reflecting on his final season with the Spanish giants and his emotional farewell.

Marcelo disclosed feelings that he hasn't truly left the club, a testament to the deep-rooted connection he has with the iconic Spanish giants. Notably, the gifted full-back also named his top three colleagues on the pitch.

He revealed that Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Rodrygo surprised him the most at Real Madrid (via Marca):

"I've been lucky enough to play for Madrid and I've seen the best. In every training session I'd say, 'How did he do that?' The three players who have surprised me the most are Toni Kroos, Rodrygo and Modric."

The Real Madrid legend discussed Kroos in detail, stating:

"Kroos, because I don't know what goes on in his head, he seems to be in his own world and he does some incredible back controls. He manages to dribble past players coming from behind with just one touch, I'd never seen that before."

He also said that Rodrygo had natural footballing abilities:

"The other one is Rodrygo, the typical player who was born with natural abilities, he does some body feints... He's the false slow player, because he's very fast with the ball."

As for Luka Modric, the former Real Madrid left-back shared a story:

"And the other one is Luka Modric, there are no words. You can't imagine what Luka is going to do with the ball. One day, Rodrygo, Lucas Vázquez and I were on the bench and Luka came through the middle to recover a ball, in the corner, trapped... He dribbled past the defender without even touching the ball and the defender didn't know where he was."

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Who were Marcelo's best coaches at Real Madrid?

The former Real Madrid left-back revealed who his best coaches were during his long stint at Madrid.

He first discussed current Roma manager Jose Mourinho:

"The best talks came from Mourinho, a coach who specializes in getting into your head. He changed me in terms of being aggressive, fighting."

Then, the left-back talked about Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti:

"In terms of group management, I would choose Zizou, because there was a time when Kiko Casilla played 25 games and Keylor Navas laughed on the bench. He had everyone happy.

"With Carlo, I appreciate his calmness. When we scored a goal, we were always calm. It was very helpful for me to have him now, in the situation I was in. I was the captain of the team, but he prefers someone else to play, and that's normal, and he has helped me in this regard."