According to Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, the club is considering granting the players holidays during the season in order to better cope with the density of schedules.

Ancelotti’s comments come as the professional football association announced in June that it had joined a lawsuit against FIFA over the “overburdened and unworkable” football calendar, with the support of players’ union Fifpro.

“The players need rest, they need holidays and we are thinking about granting the players individual holidays during the season,” said Ancelotti.

“We are thinking about introducing season breaks, giving a player a week off so that he can go and stay with his family. This is especially true for national team players, who hardly get any rest because they usually don’t even get a day’s holiday during international breaks.

“We assess this together with the medical staff and the physical preparation.”

Real Madrid won the La Liga title and the Champions League last season before some of its players took part in the Euro 2024 or Copa América in the summer.

This season, all three European club competitions will expand to 36 teams. The Champions League and Europa League will feature eight matches in the first phase, compared to six in the 2023/24 season.

Real will take part in a new FIFA Intercontinental Cup competition in December 2024, which will pit the winner of the Champions League against a team that has advanced in the intercontinental play-offs.

The La Liga season will end on May 25, 2025, ahead of the Champions League final on May 31.

There will then be a window of international matches from 2 to 10 June before the expanded FIFA Club World Cup begins.

“At the moment we don’t even know the date (of the Club World Cup), the same goes for the Intercontinental Cup,” added Ancelotti, whose team beat Atalanta to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.

“We are applying for seven titles, but we don’t yet know when or how.

“The 2025-26 season may start earlier because of the World Cup (2026), so we need to plan the start of that season accordingly.

“For example, when Vinicius Jr. comes back after playing for Brazil, instead of playing in La Liga, he rests for three or four days, goes on holiday and then comes back.

“That’s the only option. Normally these players train even when they’re not playing. But we’re taking that away from them and letting them do what they want on those days. That’s what we’re going to do.”