Real Madrid ends the most intense season in history: fatigue and challenges behind 68 games

When Xavi Alonso's team fell on the grass after the final whistle of the Club World Cup semi-finals, they were not the long-awaited holiday, but a cruel countdown: just 24 days. After 11 months of "hell season" spanning seven continents and a total of 68 official games, this kingly army was almost completely drained.

This is the most difficult and exhausting season in the club's history. From the European Super Cup in August 2024 to the Club World Cup in July 2025, Real Madrid's chariot has not stopped for a moment. They are the only team in Europe that needs to compete in seven events at the same time: the European Super Cup, La Liga, the King's Cup, the Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the Club World Cup. Behind these numbers is the players' flesh and blood consumption day after day. Endless training, frequent cross-continental flights, high-intensity games every three days... all of this makes the players physically and mentally exhausted. Even an iron man like Bellingham had to fall down for shoulder surgery, using this pitifully small rest time to repair his broken body. The senior management of the

club saw it and hurt it in his heart. Although the Club World Cup failed to win the championship, Real Madrid still decided to pay extra bonuses to thank the team for their efforts. Based on the 500,000 euros that have been obtained, the players received an additional reward of 280,000 euros based on the results of the Club World Cup.

However, no matter how much money you have, you can't buy the most precious luxury - rest.

24 days, this is all the holidays for Real Madrid players. Compared to their nearly a full year of hard work, this time seems insignificant. On August 4, they will return to the base to start pre-season preparations. Just two weeks later, on August 19, the curtain of the new La Liga season will be opened.

This is no longer a high-intensity game, but a machine that is ruthlessly "crushing" the players' bodies.

The encounter between Real Madrid is just a beginning, a microcosm of the future of top football. Against the backdrop of FIFA and UEFA's continuous expansion of the scale of various competitions and increasing the density of competitions, the "killing schedule" has changed from a warning to a reality. It is challenging the limits of the world's most powerful team and overdrawing the health of the players, the most valuable asset of the sport.

When players no longer have time to recover and breathe, and when injuries become commonplace, will the quality of the game we see really improve? Where will this "Flesh Mill" that is turning faster and faster will eventually lead the football?