Real Madrid have said they will reimburse ticket costs for club members and fans who travel to Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup.
The Champions League holders, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, are preparing for Wednesday’s Club World Cup semifinal against hosts Al Jazira.
A club statement read: “Real Madrid wants to thank the support of its members and fans who will travel to Abu Dhabi to attend the Club World Cup and will take care of the cost of the tickets for the semifinal as well as the final or the game for the third-place playoff game.
“From the time that the tickets are collected at the destination, the club will inform of the procedure to get the refund.”
Madrid players spent time signing autographs and posing for photographs with the local fans on Monday.
?✍️? ¡Los jugadores estuvieron firmando autógrafos y fotografiándose con nuestros #RMFans de Abu Dabi! #RMCWC #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/H2UmRLBiWD
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) December 11, 2017
Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane sent a message to Real’s supporters on the club’s website, saying: “I want to thank you because you are always supporting the team and that’s what we want all the time, even in difficult moments. With you, we can achieve great things and hopefully this year it will happen again. Regards to all the Madridistas.”
The Spanish champions are looking to win their second straight Club World Cup, something no team has ever achieved, and the sixth in the club’s history.
“Each time that we’ve fought for a trophy this season we’ve won — we won the European Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup,” Zidane said.
“We’ve won two titles and we’ll try to win the third one. It’s an important competition and we’re missing a league match for this trophy. We’re hoping to be able to return home with the trophy.
“We’re not going to have easy games and we’re not going to win because we’re Real Madrid. We’ve got time to prepare the matches and there’s no excuses.”
Adriana Garcia is a Valencia-based football writer who covers La Liga for ESPN FC.