Just a week after Rodri raised the alarm about potential strike action due to the mounting workload, the Manchester City midfielder now faces a lengthy injury layoff – a cruel twist of fate that intensifies the ongoing debate over player welfare in an unforgiving schedule.
Prominent figures in the sport, including Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, Pep Guardiola, and Erik ten Hag, have recently added their voices to the growing call for change.
Former Arsenal star Henry lamented that players have lost their joy for the game, while ex-Liverpool defender Carragher pointed out that they are treated like cattle.
Mark O’Sullivan, an associate professor of football at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, noted that the players’ power to effect change is diminishing.
“The whole game is subverted and it’s just been aimed at consumers by FIFA and UEFA, squeezing the last few drops out of the globalized lemon, and they’re degrading the welfare of players,” O’Sullivan told Reuters in an interview.
“There are lots of serious questions around the erosion of player agency and the long-term impact of players being forced to prioritize short-term performance over long-term well-being.”
The 28-year-old Rodri, who suffered a knee ligament injury in City’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Arsenal on Sunday, had said the optimal number of games per season in which a player can perform at the highest level is between 40 and 50.
This season, some players could play as many as 80 due to the expanded Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup formats, alongside enlarged national team competitions.
The United States will host the first edition of FIFA’s new 32-team Club World Cup from June 15 to July 13 next year.
“Nobody wants to play in it; nobody is excited about it,” former England international Carragher told CBS recently.
“The best players in the world are being treated like cattle,” he added.
Global players’ union FIFPRO last year warned of the dangers to young talents, comparing the workload of current big names such as Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe to that of former high-profile players.
By the age of 18, Mbappe had already played more than double the number of competitive matches that Henry had. Bellingham was subjected to an extremely high workload by age 19 compared to England greats Wayne Rooney and David Beckham at the same age.
Mbappe suffered a muscle injury this week, his club Real Madrid said on Wednesday, casting doubt on his participation in the weekend derby against Atletico Madrid. His teammate Bellingham recently returned to action after missing a month with a muscle injury.
Long-term concern
While the football world celebrates teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, there should be greater concern for his long-term well-being, O’Sullivan said. The 17-year-old played 50 games in all competitions for Barcelona last season and then helped Spain to the Euro 2024 victory.
“He’s a kid, and he’s played 60 games. His body is still growing; it takes energy for your body to grow, it takes energy to play sport, and you’re burning the candle at both ends,” O’Sullivan said.
Games lost to long-term injuries to young players such as Pedri, Ansu Fati, and Pablo Gavi at the Catalan club serve as a cautionary tale, he added.
“And if we just keep saying, ‘We have better recovery. We have new innovations in recovery,’ all you’re doing is putting a plaster on a tumor,” O’Sullivan said.
Former France striker Henry said player fatigue was obvious at Euro 2024.
“I don’t want to see (Harry) Kane tired at a Euro; I don’t want to see (Jude) Bellingham tired at a Euro. I don’t want to see Rodri losing balls that he never loses normally,” Henry said.
Mental recovery amid a grueling schedule is as taxing as the physical demands, he added, saying, “I see players sometimes playing without joy anymore in the game.”
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