Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has admitted that playing without fans “will be different” when the 2019-20 season of La Liga resumes after a gap of more than three months due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It will be different, for sure,” Benzema said to the Real Madrid TV. “We always need our supporters.
“However, we will have our fans here and hopefully all of them will be in front of a TV supporting us, that’s all. We know we have to win the games because they are very important for us and for the club and we will be at our best,” the 32-year-old striker added.
La Liga has remained suspended since March due to the crisis caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. But with the number of fresh cases decreasing massively, Spain’s Higher Council of Sports (CSD) announced that it had agreed with the plans of the Royal Spanish Federation (REFF) to restart the top-flight league.
According to their announcement, the league would resume behind closed doors on June 11 with the Sevilla derby between Real Betis and Sevilla. The following weekends of June 13 and 14 would see the remaining matches of the round.
However, unlike other clubs, Los Blancos will not host any team at their empty venue, Santiago Bernabeu. The club president Florentino Perez confirmed on Monday that they will play their home matches at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium at Valdebebas.
The decision to use an alternative venue was taken to complete the ongoing renovation at the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of schedule. The latest renovations at the stadium will see a retractable roof and a removable pitch to be used for events other than football matches.
Meanwhile, in the last few weeks, Real Madrid players, like other clubs, have been steadily making their way back to their respective training grounds. What started with footballers practicing individually, last week became up to 10 players at a time and now, the number has risen up to 14.