Marcelo Says Real Madrid 'Is Bigger Than Any Player,' Even Cristiano Ronaldo

Not even Cristiano Ronaldo is bigger than Real Madrid, according to Marcelo.

The Brazil international spoke about Ronaldo's move to Juventus this summer in a video on his YouTube channel and said that while the forward's departure caught the squad by surprise, the club must move on. 

He said (h/t Marca):

"Ending our holidays and coming back to the routine of Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo was a surprise for us, we thought he wouldn't go.

"Real Madrid is a huge club, Cristiano Ronaldo is huge too, but the club is bigger than any player.

"The history of Real Madrid is impressive, and Cristiano Ronaldo added a piece more to the history of this club, but Real Madrid can't stop.

"The player changes club, stops playing, retires and Real Madrid will still be here."

Ronaldo left behind an incredible legacy when he swapped Los Blancos for the Bianconeri in July, having achieved all there is to achieve in the Spanish capital:

At the time of the Portugal international's departure, SB Nation's Lucas Navarrete echoed Marcelo's sentiments on the matter:

For as much success as Ronaldo contributed to at the Santiago Bernabeu, before he arrived, Real were already the record titleholders in both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

Real captain Sergio Ramos also made similar comments in August, stating that "no one is above Real Madrid," per the Mirror's James Whaling.

Los Blancos have suffered in Ronaldo's absence, though. The team sit in seventh place in La Liga, having failed to win five of their nine matches, so they are fortunate to only be four points behind leaders Barcelona.

They recently suffered a club-record 481-minute goal drought too.

Tom Allnutt of the AFP put the dry spell into context:

It's natural for the team to suffer a drop off following his departure, though—any side would miss a player of his ability.

Madrid's problem is that their only attempt to replace him was to re-sign Mariano Diaz from Lyon. Mariano enjoyed the most prolific senior campaign of his career last season and scored an impressive 21 goals, but Ronaldo netted at least double that in eight of his nine years with Real.

Marcelo's assessment of the situation is correct, but until the club makes a more concerted effort to replace him and move on, there will be a gaping Ronaldo-shaped hole in the team.