After a 0-4 defeat to PSG in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals on July 9 at MetLife Stadium (USA), Real Madrid hopes to postpone the match against Osasuna on August 19 at the Bernabeu.
However, La Liga President Rafael Tebas insists there is no change in the schedule and stressed that this decision has been approved by the Spanish Football Federation.
According to Mr. Tebas, Real players are still given enough rest and preparation according to regulations, specifically 21 days off and 21 days of training.
They only take one day off, compared to the standard. In addition, major tournaments such as the Premier League or Ligue 1 will not adjust their schedules after the Club World Cup," said the La Liga president.
In the 2024-2025 season, Real Madrid had to work for 68 matches in all competitions, the most of any European team. Meanwhile, PSG entered the FIFA Club World Cup final with 65 matches played, while Chelsea also had 64 matches.
However, these teams will still start the new season as planned. PSG will visit Nantes on August 15 or 17, while Chelsea will host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on August 17.
Real expressed dissatisfaction with this decision. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois publicly confirmed that the team had proposed to postpone the match schedule and said that the La Liga president was prejudiced with the Club World Cup.
La Liga has always behaved like that. I have never seen a tournament president speak like him, whether in Italy, England or even American sports leagues like NBA or NFL. He does not like the Club World Cup, but this is an official tournament in the FIFA system. It's very worrying that he ignored the players' fitness," Courtois said.
In fact, Rafael Tebas has repeatedly publicly criticized the new format of the Club World Cup. He believes that the prize of up to 125 million USD for the champion will cause financial imbalance between clubs. In addition, rescheduling the first round according to Tebas is impossible because it directly affects the television rights contract.
