NEW YORK (AP) – The President of the Spanish League, Javier Tebas, rejected the Real Madrid advocacy, Thibaut Courtois, to postpone the team’s opening in 2025-26 to give players time to rest after the Extended Club World Cup.
Real Madrid was eliminated Wednesday with a defeat in the 4-0 semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain and will have a 41-day off-season before their Liga opening match against Osasuna on August 19.
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Tebas said that the decision not to move the opener had been made by the Spanish football federation and that the Liga agreed. He said players should have 21 days off and 21 days of pre-season training.
“I believe that 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 said through a translator during an interview on Friday with the Associated Press. “So I don’t think we should change the calendar for this reason, in particular by thinking that it is a question of a day.”
Real Madrid played 68 competition games during a season that started on August 18: 38 in the League, 14 in the Champions League, six each in the Copa del Rey and the club World Cup, two in Spanish Super Cup and each of the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
PSG will play its 65th game in the final of the World Cup on Sunday club and Chelsea its 64th. PSG opens its season from August 15 to 17 in Nantes and Chelsea begins against Crystal Palace on August 17.
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“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 at the NBA and the NFL. It is 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 focus.
On other subjects:
Real Madrid caused problems
Tebas said Real Madrid get their own path rather than working collectively with La Liga is its biggest problem.
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“They don’t really understand that we are a huge league and that if we collaborate, it will be positive for all of us,” he said. “Croissage in the Super League and to obtain a strong super League, they need a weak national league. They therefore work on this goal. ”
Camp Nou renovation
Barcelona hopes to return to Camp Nou after two seasons at the Olympic stadium. Camp Nou renovations are underway.
“They are waiting for a license which is provided by the town hall,” said Tebas. “We believe that probably the fourth week of the competition, it should be ready to play again.”
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This would put the Blaugrana on the right track for a return in mid-September in a place that will remain under construction.
Barcelona is on the right track to respect the financial guidelines that would allow them to make movements on the transfer market.
“Barcelona’s financial situation is good,” said Tebas. “They are about to acquire all the players they want in the coming months.”
Financial surveillance rules
Tebas hopes that the financial surveillance rules designed to restrict deficit expenditure will become more consistent among UEFA and European leagues.
“I think they are working on the right track to harmonize all the financial rules in the workplace that we have in Europe with the various institutions,” he said. “This is something we also see with the Premier League.”
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TV marketing
Liga matches are mainly broadcast in the United States by ESPN, while the Premier League has a large presence of broadcasting on NBC and the United States.
“Free-to Air always offers a more important audience, for sure, but we will not interfere in the models of our broadcasters and we are very happy with distribution,” he said. “However, there is something else we can add, and it is that today, and thanks to social media, we can connect with millions of fans through salient facts and other social content.”
Used used use of Live is a global problem for La Liga.
“We are working very hard to combat hacking,” he said. “Something that affects the value of our television rights.”
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The sports writer AP Eric Nuñez contributed to this report.
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SOCCER AP: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer