Midfielder Rodri of Manchester City has expressed grave worries on the increasing quantity of games in top football, threatening to take players to strike if the problem isn’t resolved. Rodri emphasized the mounting pressure on players, who are expected to give their all amid an ever-expanding workload, prior to City’s Champions League start against Inter Milan.
Rodri made it clear that the problem is not unique to him and that it represents the mood that players generally have when they are dealing with exhaustion and the effects of playing too many games. Players like Alisson Becker, Rodri, and Manuel Akanji have voiced concerns about their workload, given that Manchester City may play up to 75 games this season, in addition to the new Champions League structure.
A player may play at their best for 40 to 50 games a season, but anything more than that causes physical degeneration, according to the Spain international, who is also a Euro 2024 winner and a candidate for the Ballon d’Or. He emphasized that the present course, which can include players in 70–80 games, is unsustainable.
Rodri pleaded, “Someone has to protect us,” and suggested that the emphasis be shifted from marketing and money to preserving the standard of the game. “I perform better when I’m not tired, and we need to rest if people want to watch the best football,” he said in closing.
