Jun 1, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Cristian Roldan (7) wears a t-shirt to protest FIFA Club World Cup bonus sharing from MLS before pregame warmups against the Minnesota United at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images LaLiga president Javier Tebas will not be cheering FIFA’s Club World Cup when play begins this week.
Tebas largely has concerns over his own product because two of the 32 teams in the draw — Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid — play in Spain’s top flight and might face delays to the start of their season should they advance to the Round of 16 in July. LaLiga is scheduled to begin on Aug. 16.
“There is already controversy over when Real Madrid and Atletico will start LaLiga, which disrupts our usual football schedule and hurts us in the medium term,” Tebas said in a radio interview with Cadena Cope radio. “The decision on whether Real Madrid and Atletico 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 favor of.”
FIFA is the governing body overseeing the CWC and next year’s World Cup. Tebas said he had no contact with any officials at FIFA, and they didn’t consult LaLiga about any of the details of the tournament being held in the United States.
“It is completely absurd,” Tebas said.
“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 Atletico can’t play on the first day of LaLiga.”
–Field Level Media
