Astonishment at twenty (!) minute flight from Real: ‘What the hell?’


Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 1:41 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 13:45

In Spain, outrage has arisen about the travel behavior of Real Madrid. The Royal closed the 2022 calendar year on Friday with an away game against Real Valladolid. The fact that Carlo Ancelotti’s team made the journey to the city two hundred kilometers away by plane causes incomprehension. In total, the world’s stars were only twenty minutes (!) in the air.

Real itself seemed to be unaware of any harm and shared images of the arrival on Friday upon arrival in Valladolid. For example, you could see how Vinícius Júnior was buried among the fans and asked for autographs. Players were also asked to pose for a photo. The Spanish superpower speaks in the article on the website itself of ‘a flight of less than an hour’, but in reality the selection was only twenty minutes in the clouds.

Julen Bollain, a well-known Spanish economist, politician and researcher, has no words for it. “They could go by train, bus or plane. It would take two hours by bus, an hour by plane (including twenty minutes in the air) and 55 minutes by train. Indeed. They have chosen to emit two tons of CO2 from to push,” said Bollain. The 32-year-old Spaniard is a well-known figure in the Basque Country in particular and was elected to the Basque Parliament in the 2016 parliamentary elections. In addition, he is a former member of the Council of Deputies of the Basques.

Also Alvaro Romeo, who on behalf talkSPORT the Spanish commentary provided is out of tune. “Real Madrid took a flight of fifteen minutes before the away match against Valladolid. And then we are talking about shirts made from recycled materials. What the hell?” Earlier this year, Paris Saint-Germain was already criticized for its travel behavior. The star ensemble of Christophe Galtier chose in September to travel by plane for the away game against Nantes, which is about four hundred kilometers south of Paris.