Real Madrid escalated their complaints about their fixture schedule on Saturday, with manager Carlo Ancelotti con

firming that the team will refuse to play in the future if their players aren't given at least 72 hours' rest between games.

Madrid faced rivals Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, a match that kicked off at 21:00 local time and lasted 120 minutes plus a penalty shootout, finishing just before midnight.

They next face Villarreal in LaLiga on Saturday, with kick-off at 18:30 local time.

Ancelotti lamented the tight schedule on Friday - blaming "TV rights and money" and saying "the last thing on anyone's mind is the recovery of the players".

Madrid went one step further on Saturday before kick-off at Villarreal, with the club's television channel stating that "Real Madrid will ask for FIFA's support ... so that this never happens again".

After Madrid's 2-1 win over Villarreal, Ancelotti confirmed the club's stance.

"I think today is the last time that we'll play a game before 72 hours," he said. "We won't do it again, without 72 hours of rest. We asked LaLiga to change the time of the game twice, and they didn't do anything. But this is the last time."

Asked to confirm if the team would show up if a game was scheduled without 72 hours rest, he responded: "No, of course not."

FIFA recommends a minimum of 72 hours' rest between matches to protect players' health. However, fixtures are set by competition organisers, with LaLiga setting the kick-off times for league matches in Spain.

The busy fixture list has been a regular source of complaint from leading clubs and players in recent years, and the 2024-25 season will be further extended by the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which will take place between 15 June and 13 July.