Real Madrid have looked a different team without Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane this season.

The Portuguese superstar was sold in the summer to Juventus and despite claims that Los Blancos weren't reliant on Ronaldo, the facts speak for themselves.

Real are seven points behind Barcelona in the La Liga table and are struggling for goals - something you simply do not associate with the world's most famous club.

The club is littered with the best players in the world, but pretty much every single established star - bar Karim Benzema - has looked a shadow of the player they were under Zidane.

In Thursday night's 2-2 draw away at struggling Villarreal, both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were hauled off by Santiago Solari, something you wouldn't have seen in 2017/18.

And defensively, Real have looked a shambles and it appears Marcelo is taking most of the flak right now.

An article published by Madrid-based paper Marca speaks volumes about how the Brazilian is being perceived right now.

They stress that teams across Spain are now targeting Marcelo's side and his lack of defensive nous is becoming a real issue for Los Blancos.

Marca point out that the Brazilian has turned in disastrous performances against Girona, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Eibar and Villarreal in the league.

Whenever Real are struggling to get going, Marcelo's presence seems to make things even worse.

The final paragraph of the article pretty much sums the situation, with Marca writing: "Having shown his ability as one of the world's best full-backs in the past, Marcelo is showing this season that his best days may be behind him and Madrid might need to find a replacement."

At 30-years-old, a more youthful left-back may even be required in January, with Theo Hernandez currently on-loan at Real Sociedad.

The general consensus is that Marcelo's skillset will see him become a midfield player for his final professional years and it should probably happen as soon as possible.