The president of Laliga, Javier Tebas, rejected the plea of the goalkeeper of Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois, to postpone the opening of the League of the 2025-26 team to give the players time to rest after the club World Cup.
Real Madrid was dropped from the tournament following a 4-0 semi-final defeat against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, which means that they will have a break of 41 days before their first Liga match against Osasuna on August 19.
Tebas said the decision not to move the opener had been made by the Spanish football federation and that Laliga agreed. He said players should have 21 days off and 21 days of pre-season training.
“I think they will have 20 days to rest instead of 21 years and no other league like the Premier League for Chelsea or the French Ligue 1 for PSG changes games,” he told the Associated Press “so I don’t think we have to change the calendar for this reason, in particular thinking that it is a question of a day”.
Madrid played 68 competition games during a season that started last August which includes 38 in the Laliga, 14 in the Champions League, six each in the Copa Del Rey and the club World Cup, two in the Spanish Super Cup and one of the European Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
Meanwhile, PSG will play its 65th game in the final of the Sunday World Cup (it will be the 64th of Chelsea). PSG opens its season from August 15 to 17 in Nantes, while Chelsea begins against Crystal Palace on August 17.
“It’s always the same for La Liga,” said Courtois on Wednesday.
“To listen to these comments from a president, it is something that I have not seen in Italy, or in England, nor in the NBA and the NFL.
“It’s good if Tebas does not like the club World Cup, but it is. It is part of the FIFA calendar. We are here in competition, and it seems that this gentleman just wants to be the objective center. I have never seen a president of another competition speak like that. The Heath of the players is at stake.”