No holiday for Jude

If only he had a double who looks and plays like him. Maybe brother Jobe could fill in for him?

Rob Palmer, ESPN commentator

Malaga

Friday, 20 December 2024, 17:03

Jude Bellingham could be forgiven for not having a clue what day it was, what city he was in or where he was heading next.

The Real Madrid star was reported to have said "Qatar or whatever..." when asked about the next match in his club's congested calendar. Some took it as a slight to the Middle East country; others thought it might be disrespectful to the Inter-Continental Cup.

I'm with Jude - who genuinely hasn't got a clue where the Real Madrid roadshow rolls into next.

Between 24 November and 12 January, the team have 13 possible games scheduled; remarkably, only two are in their home city.

Jude and his teammates took in Leganés and Liverpool. After a brief trip home to host Getafe, they headed to Bilbao and Girona. He made the comments in Bergamo. I'm not alone in discovering that it is the location of Atalanta's Gewiss stadium.

At least there was a chance to sleep at home before the next game, a Madrid derby withRayo Vallecano. He was right; they headed to Qatar to win the FIFA Intercontinental Trophy. It's back home briefly for this weekend when Sevilla visit. That's it at the Bernabéu until 19 January. Next stop: Minera in the Copa del Rey. I had to look up the tiny team in Murcia; it's 447km away from the capital.

Then it's on the road - or flightpath - to Riyadh to defend the Spanish SuperCopa. If they beat Mallorca in the semi-final, it means an 11th game out of 13 away from home.

I don't always subscribe to the philosophy that footballers are overworked, but I think Real Madrid are the exception to the rule. Back in the marketing and travel departments, they are making plans for the season's end - or extension, to be exact. Whilst most players head off for a family holiday, the Real Madrid players head to the USA as the headline act at the inaugural FIFA World Cup. If successful - which let's face it is in the club's DNA -, they finish with a final on 13 July. Phew!

On the evidence of the above, the calendar is too congested. It's a rockstar existence without the luxury of heading to an exclusive island for six months after the global tour. Real Madrid will no doubt be on a money-spinning pre-season tour just a few weeks after the new FIFA event.

Jude doesn't appear to appreciate the difference between the Intercontinental Cup and Club World Cup - but then again, I'm not sure anyone does... Of course, his paymasters would like to introduce another competition - the European Super League. Well, that was the original title; it's now being remarketed as the "Unify League". It's complicated to say the least - the proposal is for 96 clubs to compete in four leagues. Let's leave it there as I'm already glazing over.

Football will soon be like boxing; with so many divisions, they'll become worthless. If only Jude had a double who looks and plays like him. Maybe brother Jobe could fill in for him due to the high demand over the next month?

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