Adriana Garcia
Jun 10, 2025, 03:41 PM
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LaLiga president Javier Tebas reiterated in an interview Monday that he considers the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup "completely absurd."
The tournament that will take place from June 14 to July 13 in the United States, will have a new format with 32 teams playing in the competition.
"It is completely absurd," Tebas told Cadena Cope radio. "It's not just about the physical wear and tear on the players, which is obvious, but the Club World Cup model affects the entire ecosystem of national leagues, especially in Europe."
Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid are the only two Spanish teams that will feature at the Club World Cup.
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However, if the two teams reach the final rounds of the competition, with the quarterfinals scheduled to be played on July 4-5, it will have a negative effect on LaLiga, according to Tebas.
LaLiga starts on Aug. 16-17.
"There is already controversy over when Real Madrid and Atlético will start LaLiga, which disrupts our usual football schedule and hurts us in the medium term," Tebas said.
"The decision on whether Real Madrid and Atlético will start [LaLiga] later [in order to rest] is not mine alone. It will be made in due course when we see where they stand. But it can't be that we keep having to constantly change our schedule for other competitions that we are not in favour of.
"They haven't consulted us about dates, they haven't consulted us about anything. What they're doing is damaging Spanish competition, if big teams like Real Madrid or Atlético can't play on the first day of LaLiga."
Tebas has been critical of FIFA for not consulting the leagues on the decision to stage a Club World Cup every fourth summer, just as the governing body did not consult them on moving the 2022 World Cup to the winter or expanding the men's World Cup to 48 teams from 2026.