The issue of too many games has dominated discussions in football over the past 12 months, especially as there have been many high-profile serious injuries. Real Madrid have been particularly affected by this and Thibaut Courtois was one of the players who made a mistake.
Courtois tore his ACL in August 2023, causing him to miss the vast majority of the 2023-2024 season. According to Relevo, he has had his say about the controversial fixture list.
“We need to put an end to the 'you make a lot of money' excuse. You can also make money by playing 10 fewer games. It's not that there are too many matches… I think the problem is that we lack rest.
“FIFPRO tries to protect players. But I don't think other regulators think about it. This Club World Cup is something that needs to exist, but it is difficult to find the right way to participate in it. I think the clubs want to help, but we all follow the rules and the calendar they give us.”
Courtois also used examples of his Real Madrid teammates, particularly poking fun at Federico Valverde, who is known for barely getting the chance to rest and rotate at club or international level.
“Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal played until July 14 and then on August 1 they were in training in Madrid and on August 8 they played the Super Cup. If you explain this to the people in America with the NBA, the NFL, they won't understand it. The other day I was laughing with Fede Valverde. I told him, 'Your next holiday is in 2027.' You know how crazy that sounds! This year it's the Club World Cup, next year it's the World Cup, the year after that it's something else, so there's no rest…'
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