September 18 – Manchester City’s Spanish international midfielder Rodri has warned that top players are close to going on strike because of the number of games they are having to play.
With more fixtures added to the calendar, Rodri (pictured) says players cannot continue facing an ever-expanding schedule.
City, the 2023 Champions League winners, face Inter Milan tonight in their first match of the competition’s new league format.
The expanded 36-team tournament will see all clubs play eight league fixtures, with 16 teams to play in an extra two-legged play-off round before the last 16.
City will also compete in an expanded Club World Cup at the end of the season.
“I think we are close to that. I think if you ask any player he will say the same,” said Rodri when asked if there was a possibility of players going on strike.
“It is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. I think it’s the general opinion of the players.”
“And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option, I really think, but let’s see,” he added. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it’s something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer.”
City could play as many as 75 games this season, with some international players set for an even heavier workload.
“From my experience between 40-50 is the amount of games in which a player can perform in the highest level,” said Rodri. “After that you drop because it is impossible to sustain the physical level… Someone has to take care of ourselves because we are the main characters of this sport or business or whatever you want to call it.”
Rodri’s comments echoed those of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, who said players were being ignored by football chiefs when it came to the issue of fixture congestion.
“Sometimes nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games,” Alisson told reporters on Monday. “Maybe our opinion doesn’t matter, but everybody knows what we think about having more games. Everybody’s tired of that.”
England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is involved in two separate legal challenges to FIFA over the calendar and its introduction of a 32-team Club World Cup.
“This is the year when we can look at the calendar and say clearly ‘This doesn’t work’. Players see that and they are now experiencing it,” said PFA chief executive Maheta Molango, responding to Rodri’s comments.
“Those who run the game must now sit up and take notice.”
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