The rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona is one of the biggest in world football, neither has too much affection for Paris Saint-Germain. However, towards the end of the current team break, the big three teams seem to be uniting under the same goal – to keep their assets, their stars, even if it means hurting national missions.
National team players at a meeting with the children of the envelope in Hungary | Liav Nachmani
The qualifying window for Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup has taken too heavy a toll on the empires, with each losing a talented young player to an injury they believe is due to unnecessary workload. Both the Spaniards and the French champions simply prefer to see their stars rest and fresher for team assignments in the league and Champions League.
The focus is mainly on the young ages of the four, which are supposed to be durable, strong and stable. In practice, the situation is different: 23-year-old Vinicius Junior was injured in a Brazil uniform and is out for at least two months due to a knee tendon injury; The 19-year-old Gavi was injured for Spain and ended the season with a cruciate ligament tear; Finally, 17-year-old Warren Zaire Emery injured his ankle and is out for at least a month.
Rounding out this quartet is Real Madrid's Edouard Camavinga, who, unlike the other three, did not manage to play for France before he was injured, but tore a ligament already during training with the tricolour. The duration of his rehabilitation is unclear, but may take two months. In the case of the Blancos, the injury epidemic is broader, with Jude Bellingham (20) suffering a shoulder injury and Aurelien Tchouameni (23) suffering a fractured foot, but the latter two have been shut down without sharing their team assignments, England and France respectively.
Zaire Emery walks off the field at the end of the medical team. When will he return to play?, Photo: AP
The newest of all those mentioned is, of course, Gavi's, which led Barcelona to take the unusual step of threatening a lawsuit by the Spanish national team and coach Luis de la Fuente, claiming that his participation in Sunday's game against Georgia in the Euro qualifiers was unnecessary and burdened the creative midfielder unnecessarily.
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Real Madrid would also prefer their stars to skip playing for Brazil and France and are looking for ways to choose who to release for national missions in the future. PSG share this desire.
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