The collapse of Real Madrid: “Safety limits are being exceeded”
The 12 injuries suffered by the Whites in the last month of competition are a warning sign, with the calendar in focus. “A reset is necessary,” warns Dr. Ripoll.
In addition to the sporting challenge of winning seven titles, Madrid faced a physical challenge . To achieve seven titles, Ancelotti ‘s team had to play 72 matches and compete over 11 months: from August 14, 2024 (the European Super Cup final) to July 13, 2025. All of this with the accelerator pressed down from start to finish because the margin of error in achieving the ambitious goal was minimal.
The mission was difficult and has proven impossible. Madrid heroically held their own for eight months, but ultimately collapsed . It was a physical collapse that led to the collapse of their sporting objectives. Ancelotti’s men reached April in contention for all the titles, but by then their bodies had given up. The 12 injuries suffered, many of them serious, in the final 32 days of competition are a reflection of this collapse. With the Club World Cup still to come , Madrid has finished the season in tatters and with half the squad in the infirmary , while at this point there are 10 injured players. A warning sign in a frenetic schedule that has long been under scrutiny.
The end has been dramatic, but the season itself has been complicated because injuries have limited Ancelotti ‘s resources almost from start to finish. Alaba’s long-term absence was followed by that of Camavinga in August. Then came the blows of Carvajal and Militao , and from then on they suffered with each spike in injuries that occurred: eight in September, six in October and November, seven in February, six in April, nine in May… The injury impact on Madrid has been 57 physical problems, 41 muscular and 16 traumatic, spread across 21 players . Only Modric and Güler have not been injured. Five players have had to undergo surgery, another five are out for more than 100 days , seven more are over the 50-day knockout threshold, and Madrid has almost doubled the number of injuries it suffered last season (32). A bleak outlook for a team that has already played 62 matches, that played nine in a single month (January) and that even played a match with only 66 hours of rest that pushed them to the limits of their physical and patience: “Next time we won’t turn up,” warned Ancelotti .
Dr. Ripoll’s warning
“Safety limits for the health of footballers are being exceeded . This is beyond doubt. We’re talking about 72 matches in 11 months of competitions with Real Madrid, a club subject to maximum demands. That means that those 72 matches are not only being played, but they’re doing so at an extremely high intensity, which entails an obvious risk: a high number of injuries. Now the players will barely rest; on June 18th they already have the first match of the Club World Cup and could play until July 13th . Then next season starts on August 16th or 17th. And again, the same demands and the same schedule,” warns Dr. Pedro Luis Ripoll, director of the Ripoll i De Prado Clinic, FIFA Center of Excellence .
Safety limits for footballers’ health are being exceeded. This is beyond doubt.Pedro Luis Ripoll, director of the Ripoll and De Prado Clinic
For the prestigious surgeon, there is no doubt that it is the schedule that has “defeated” Madrid in the fight for all objectives. “Without a doubt. Madrid has maintained its competitive nature until the end, but the recent injuries in the final stretch, many of them long-term and located in the defensive system, have had a clear impact on its performance . But if we compare it with City, which has seen its performance altered with fewer injuries, we can better understand Madrid’s merit. In my opinion, it has had a heroic season,” he points out.
A crisis to reflect on
Regarding whether Real Madrid’s injury crisis should make football’s governing bodies and leaders reconsider, Dr. Ripoll offers the following reflection: “Obviously, yes. But it’s an issue that must be addressed frankly and clearly. Football isn’t going to reduce the number of matches. The demands of the public, television channels, and sponsors require a practically continuous schedule throughout the year. It’s not just the governing bodies that need to talk. Clubs and the players themselves must also enter the conversation. Clubs must prepare squads capable of playing 72 matches a year . And the players must understand that they won’t be able to play all of them. They will have to accept rotations and rest periods. If we want to maintain this number of competitions, a reset of the entire football community is necessary , including the fans, who won’t always be able to see the players they want on the pitch. In the last five years, we’ve become accustomed to seeing figures of over 700 injuries per season in the First Division. It’s a problem that affects football as a whole, not just a few teams . “
The severity, duration and accumulation in key areas of the team have made this season especially complicated.Pedro Luis Ripoll, director of the Ripoll and De Prado Clinic
Regarding the particular case of Madrid and its collapse in a historic season in which it could play 72 games over 11 months of competition , Dr. Ripoll is clear: “The problem is not just the number, but the duration and severity of the injuries . Many have been long-term and have concentrated in the defensive system. Every year there are usually peaks of injuries in August (preseason), in September (start of the competition) and in February (middle stretch). What has been exceptional this season is the peak of injuries at the end . This is a figure that goes beyond anything that would be normal. So, although the total number of injuries is not unprecedented, their severity, duration and accumulation in key areas of the team make this season especially complicated.”
