Coronavirus: Real Madrid player ‘tests positive’ ahead of Champions League tie against Man City

Real Madrid’s Champions League preparations are thrown into chaos as striker Mariano tests positive for coronavirus after his holiday – just 10 days before trip to face Manchester City

  • Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz has tested positive for coronavirus
  • Mariano returned from a short holiday and was tested by the club on Monday
  • He is now in quarantine for two weeks but the club say he is ‘in perfectly health’ 
  • It is unclear how the positive test will affect the game at Manchester City
  • UK re-imposed requirement for travellers from Spain to have 14 days in isolation
  • City and Real are set to conclude their last-16 Champions League tie next Friday 

Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz has tested positive for coronavirus and will now miss their Champions League tie with Manchester City next week.

The club have confirmed that Diaz returned a positive Covid-19 test and is now in quarantine at home after missing training on Tuesday. 

Spanish newspaper Marca are reporting that Diaz returned a positive test on his return from holiday following a short trip after the conclusion of the LaLiga season. 

Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz has tested positive for coronavirus after returning to the club

Diaz returned from a short holiday after the LaLiga season finished and was tested on Monday

Diaz returned from a short holiday after the LaLiga season finished and was tested on Monday

The Spanish giants are due to play Manchester City in the Champions League next Friday 

A club statement read: ‘After the COVID-19 tests carried out individually on our first football team yesterday (Monday) by the Real Madrid Medical Services, our player Mariano has given a positive result.

‘The player is in perfect health and complying with the sanitary isolation protocol at home.’

The Spanish giants are due to play the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie at the Etihad Stadium on August 7.

Mariano will now have to undertake a two-week quarantine period, ruling him out of the game against the Premier League side. 

The 26-year-old took to Instagram to express his gratitude to fans, and confirmed that he is undertaking a period of self-isolation. 

He said: ‘I very much appreciate your messages of support. I am perfectly fine, thank God. My family are also great. Now I am confined at home. I hope to return to normal soon and be with my teammates.’

It remains to be seen how the positive test will impact the game against Manchester City

It remains to be seen how the positive test will impact the game against Manchester City

The UK re-imposed requirement for travellers arriving from Spain to spend 14 days in isolation

The UK re-imposed requirement for travellers arriving from Spain to spend 14 days in isolation

The news comes amid the ongoing row between the UK and Spanish Governments after the UK re-imposed the requirement for travellers arriving from Spain to spend 14 days in quarantine. 

But the positive test is now likely to bring the game into question, particularly if more Real players test positive in their next round of testing.

It will also ramp up the pressure on the Government, with the Spanish champions currently allowed to the travel and play despite the UK’s new quarantine rules due to exemptions surrounding their ‘bubbled environment’.   

It was decided on Saturday that the UK should remove Spain from its list of safe countries to travel to after fears were raised that the European country was experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections. 

Ministers decided to reimpose quarantine travel restrictions on Spain from midnight on Sunday after it emerged 10 Britons had returned home from the country with coronavirus.

The UK’s chief medical office, Professor Chris Whitty, led a meeting with six senior ministers to discuss the worsening situation in Spain and insisted action had to be taken. 

Mariano (second from right) has played just seven times for Real this season in all competitions

Mariano (second from right) has played just seven times for Real this season in all competitions

Real Madrid won the LaLiga title this season, finishing five points clear of rivals Barcelona

Real Madrid won the LaLiga title this season, finishing five points clear of rivals Barcelona

It comes just over a week after Real wrapped up their LaLiga campaign, which followed a strict set of protocols to ensure the season could be concluded after the coronavirus pandemic stopped play.

Real won the LaLiga title, finishing five points clear of rivals Barcelona, but face an uphill task to eliminate City from the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola’s side hold a 2-1 aggregate lead from the first leg at the Bernabeu way back in February. Captain Sergio Ramos was also sent off so he will be missing for the return leg.

Mariano is far from a key player for Zidane. He has played just seven times for Real this season across all competitions and has scored one goal. 


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