Real Madrid Delay Their 2026-27 La Liga Opener Because of the World Cup
The start of the Spanish season will be split into two stages. Because of the involvement of Real Madrid players in the decisive rounds of the World Cup, the merengues’ match against Real Sociedad — originally set for the weekend of August 14 and 15 — has been pushed to the last week of the month. As a result, José Mourinho’s official debut in his second spell in charge of the club will come away from home, against Espanyol.
Why the calendar had to change
La Liga had planned to open the 2026-27 season on the weekend of August 14 and 15. The problem: the World Cup ends only on July 19, and players who reached the semifinal or final of the tournament would not have enough rest and preseason time before a national league opener.
The Spanish players’ union, the AFE, was direct: the collective agreement guarantees three weeks of rest after a player’s last World Cup match, plus another three weeks of preparation before returning to competition. Because the final is on July 19, playing on August 14 was mathematically unfeasible for those athletes.
The solution approved by La Liga club representatives on June 9 was to split the first round into two blocks. Six games take place in the original August 14-15 window; the other three or four matches — those involving teams with more players at the World Cup — are moved to a midweek date at the end of the month, squeezed between the second and third rounds.
What changes for Real Madrid in practice
Real are right at the center of the problem. At least one group of the club’s players will be in the semifinals: either Brahim Díaz, with Morocco, or the French trio of Kylian Mbappé, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Ibrahima Konaté — whichever survives the quarterfinal between the two nations. With the clash against Real Sociedad pushed to late August, Mourinho will make his La Liga debut in a match away to Espanyol. As Real Madrid enjoy a huge global following, from official supporters’ clubs in Bangladesh to fans across the Americas, calendar shifts like this draw attention well beyond Spain.
Mikel Oyarzabal, of Spain, and Gonçalo Guedes, of Portugal, are in the Round of 16. The club has already been informed and accepted the rescheduling, in line with what had been agreed when the calendar was set.
Real Madrid stayed away from the meetings — and the detail is not a small one
The Madrid club did not send representatives to the La Liga and Royal Spanish Football Federation meetings that finalized the new season calendar. This is nothing new. Florentino Pérez and La Liga president Javier Tebas have a historically strained relationship, and Real tend to boycott these gatherings as an institutional stance.
Even so, Tebas made a point of stressing that the deal applies to everyone. “The AFE collective agreement will be honored for all players,” the executive said. The league also confirmed that postponements in the second round are not planned, regardless of which countries advance.
