On Wednesday, Real Madrid enter the first of six competitions that they will play during the 2024-25 season. They take on Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup final, as they aim for their first trophy of the campaign – they would hope that it would be the last, either.
Los Blancos will also take part in La Liga, Champions League, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup and the new Club World Cup next summer, which features 32 teams. In total, they could end up playing 72 matches if they were to reach the final in every cup competition – an eye-watering amount (this also includes international matches played throughout the campaign).
For Dani Carvajal, enough is enough. Speaking to the media on Tuesday (via Diario AS), he implored FIFA and UEFA to reduce the number of matches played during a season.
“It doesn’t make any sense. Having trips such as the Club World Cup, FIFA dates in between – it is impossible to play 72 games.”
Federico Valverde was in agreement with his Real Madrid teammate.
“I think the same as Dani, those of us in South America have to do 12 hours there and back again (when on international duty). This year we have trained less, but we try to do our best. Our body becomes saturated.”
Clearly, this is something that needs to be addressed by the relevant parties. There’s a high chance that Real Madrid suffer the same injury problems that befell them last season, and these issues (for any team) are not good for football. Player welfare should be paramount.
