Marcelo addressed the media gathered at the UCLA campus prior to training on the third day of the pre-season tour, where the Brazilian defender shared his thoughts on the challenges that lie ahead for the team this term: "I always go into each pre-season and every season with real excitement. Every year I try to give my all to reach the end of the season in good shape and lift some silverware". "I've been here for many years now but I give my all every season, I try to learn new things and pass on a bit of the experience I've gained at this great club to the youngsters. My enthusiasm remains the same, each year I go all out with my teammates to try and have the best season we possibly can and look to win some trophies". Pre-season "The pre-season holds the key to the whole campaign. Last year we had a very good pre-season. When you get to the end of the season with real strength it's because you've had a really good pre-season and that's the most important thing to enable us to fight for silverware on all fronts". Theo "I've always had to fight for my place in the team, despite us not having had a left wing-back. I've had to give my all to make the line-up. Theo is young and he'll be a great help here at Madrid. He has all of my trust, that of his teammates and the coach. He's here to contribute to the squad". The Squad "It's difficult to say whether this is a better squad than las year's. It's tough to say and draw comparisons. Some great players have plied their trade here and the current crop are really good. We head into pre-season in the best possible shape with a view to winning some silverware this season".

"Last season we won LaLiga and the Champions League, two very tough competitions, but we're aware that we can improve. It'll be difficult to beat that, but there are things that we've learned along the way and we're going to try and win as many trophies as we can and we'll see where it takes us. The key to everything is the work that we're doing here. We've got to continue on in the same vein, with work, work and more work".



Friendly against the MLS All-Stars

"There's no such thing as a friendly for us. We always want to win every game. This is pre-season and it's really special to be coming up against the MLS All-Stars. I follow the division a bit, it's improving a lot and in a few years' time it'll be a really great league".



Cristiano Ronaldo

"I haven't spoken to him about it. All of his teammates are behind him and he's aware of that. There's no need to say anything about the press, you know how it works better than I do. We'll speak about it when he returns".



Zidane

"The gaffer is very clear in what he asks of us: work hard without thinking that you're better than anyone and do everything in your power to compete for all of the trophies up for stake. Hard work is at the forefront of his mind".



Mourinho

"I haven't seen him over here. Revenge isn't on our agenda. I haven't got any issue with him, there's no reason to be seeking revenge. It's always a pleasure to come up against the best in the game and he's one of the best. He helped me a great deal when he was here".



The future

"Real Madrid is my home, I'm very comfortable at the club and I want to stay here for many years to come. I follow MLS a bit and it's improving massively".