Man City ace, Kevin de Bruyne, isn’t known as someone who courts controversy, but he’s the latest in a growing number of voices to express displeasure at the fixture congestion imposed upon teams by the game’s governing bodies.
The most successful outfits across Europe appear to be being penalised for being just that, as more and more games, both domestically and internationally, are taking place.
This season’s Champions League format has changed so that each team will play eight rather than six games in the group stage. In another subtle change it will also be more of a league rather than group format before the Round of 16.
Were City to do well domestically, there are FA Cup games and Carabao Cup games to factor in too.
Not to mention that, for the first time ever, the Club World Cup, normally played around Christmas time, will be moved to next summer and expanded to feature 32 teams from across the globe.
“The real problem will emerge after the Club World Cup,” de Bruyne was quoted as saying to Reuters.
“We know there will be only three weeks between the Club World Cup final and the first Premier League match. So, we have three weeks to rest and prepare for another 80 matches.
“Maybe this year things will be okay, but next year could be problematic. The Professional Footballers’ Association in England and other player associations have tried to find solutions.
“The issue is that UEFA and FIFA keep adding extra matches, and we can raise concerns, but no solutions have been found. It seems that money speaks louder than the players’ voices.”
The Belgian’s ire follows a similar outburst from team-mate, Bernardo Silva, detailed by CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, via X.
??? Bernardo Silva: “The schedule is completely crazy. We've just received the news that we only have one day off for the English League Cup game”.
"We’ll probably play every three days for months. It's been absolutely absurd”.
“In the Champions League, if you don't qualify… pic.twitter.com/y5huJ4pazX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 6, 2024
As de Bruyne indicates, player welfare doesn’t seem as important to the governing bodies as earning money, but this could backfire spectacularly on them.
Players are not robots, and if FIFA and UEFA really want to put on a show in their tournaments, then they must take into account that the elite simply cannot play all year round.
One only needs to recall how tired some teams looked at Euro 2024 – England especially – to understand the seriousness of the issue.
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