Real Madrid News
Real Madrid facing fixture nightmare in early 2023 after Club World Cup announcement
On Friday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that the FIFA Club World Cup 2022 will be played in Morocco between February 1 and 11 next year.
Following that announcement, Real Madrid are now facing a torrid run of fixture schedule as they could now be playing as many as 17 matches in the space of less than 60 days across four countries, reports MARCA.
Following the World Cup, Real Madrid will resume their campaign with a La Liga encounter against Real Valladolid on December 30. A few days later, they will begin their Copa del Rey journey before returning to La Liga action against Villarreal.
Soon after that, Los Blancos will travel to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup where they will take on Valencia in the semi-finals on January 11, and should they win, they will play the finals four days later.
Upon returning from the Super Cup assignment, Real Madrid will have a series of fixtures in the Copa del Rey, provided they have progressed, and La Liga until the first week of February when they will be expected to fly to Morocco for the FIFA Club World Cup.
Immediately after they return from the African nation, the Merengues will have a Copa del Rey semi-final on the horizon provided they have qualified as well as the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg tie against Liverpool away from home, which will be followed by a derby against Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid fixture calendar
- Valladolid vs Real Madrid – Dec 30
- Copa del Rey third round – Jan 4
- Villarreal vs Real Madrid – Jan 7
- Real Madrid vs Valencia (Spanish Super Cup semi-final) – Jan 11
- Spanish Super Cup final – Jan 15 (if they progress)
- Copa del Rey fourth round – Jan 18
- Athletic Club vs Real Madrid – Jan 22
- Copa del Rey quarter-finals – Jan 25
- Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad – Jan 29
- Real Madrid vs Valencia – Feb 2
- Mallorca vs Real Madrid – Feb 5
- FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals – Feb 8
- FIFA Club World Cup finals – Feb 11
- Copa del Rey semi-finals – Feb 15
- Osasuna vs Real Madrid – Feb 19
- Liverpool vs Real Madrid (Champions League) – Feb 21
- Real Madrid vs Atletico – Feb 26
In a span of less than two months, Real Madrid could end up playing as many as 17 matches across four countries – Spain, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and England.
Given that a number of players are returning from World Cup assignments, manager Carlo Ancelotti will need to make use of his entire squad in order to get through this packed schedule in the early parts of the new year.
There is no way back for Eden Hazard at Real Madrid. The Belgian international has not given the management any reason to have faith in his abilities over his past four seasons at the club and is unsurprisingly the most important departure for the Merengues in the summer.
Hazard has one more year on his contract in Madrid. However, it is clear that Carlo Ancelotti does not trust him and that any potential replacement manager in the summer will echo his stance.
According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Fenerbahce are willing to go all out to sign Hazard this summer. The Turkish side have made the former Chelsea their prime target, yet face a steep task ahead of them.
The 32-year-old is hellbent on seeing out his contract with Los Blancos despite seeing his career sink right before his eyes. It thus becomes complicated for the party to lure away the forward, especially in a competition outside Europe’s top five leagues.
Fenerbahce attempted to sign the winger in the recently concluded winter transfer market. They reached an agreement with Real Madrid but failed to get over the line as they could not convince the player of the move.
The biggest obstacle for the Turkish side will be convincing Hazard to make the move by letting go of his lucrative contract in Madrid. The chances are slim, but not impossible.
Hazard has made just three league appearances and one start for Ancelotti’s side this season in La Liga, a steep fall from last season’s 18 and seven respectively.
His last appearance for the team came back in January when Real Madrid faced Cacereno in the Copa del Rey. In La Liga however, he last played in September 2022 in a 4-1 win over Mallorca.
