Real Madrid Striker Mariano Tests Positive For COVID-19

Real Madrid striker Mariano has tested positive for Covid-19, the Spanish champions said on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the 26-year-old Spanish-born player was in “perfect health” and “complying with the sanitary isolation protocol at home”.

This comes days before Madrid play at Manchester City in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Friday, 7 August.

Responding to the news, Uefa, European football’s governing body, said it is “in contact with the club and monitoring both the situation and decisions of the relevant Spanish authorities”.

It added: “We are confident that this case will not affect the regular staging of the match in question.”

Man City also said they are monitoring the situation and are understood to be “mildly concerned”.

City hold a 2-1 lead after the Bernabeu first leg, which was played in February before the coronavirus pandemic caused the competition to be halted.