Rodri warns of imminent player strike over football fixture demands and reveals number of games players should play | OneFootball

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has warned of an imminent global player strike regarding the increasing number of matches being asked of athletes to compete in.

It comes as Manchester City prepare to embark on two expanded tournaments this season, the first of which arrives this week and pushes the Etihad Stadium club’s roster to the very maximum among other competitions.

The challenge of adding in the Champions League and Carabao Cup over the next fortnight has caused concern amongst Pep Guardiola’s players, with Bernardo Silva recently labelling the schedule of their third round League Cup tie against Watford as “absurd”.

City will take on the Championship side just 49 hours after they welcome Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium in a mammoth Premier League encounter, leaving Pep Guardiola with no option but to heavily rotate his playing squad.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester City’s return to UEFA Champions League action this week, in an expanded edition of the tournament, Rodri has revealed the maximum number of games he feels players can play to their highest standard.

“Honestly, I don’t know the exact number,” Rodri said. “I think from my experience, I can tell you that 60 or 70 games, no, obviously. I think between 40 and 50 is the amount of games in which a player can perform in their highest level, after that you drop, because it’s impossible to sustain the physical level.”

He continued, “And I think this year we’re going to go until 70, maybe 80 games, I don’t know. It depends how far you go in competitions. In my humble opinion, I think it’s too much. I think we have to take care of ourselves, 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.

“And I think not everything is money or marketing, it’s also the quality of the show. In my opinion, when I’m rested, when I’m not tired, I perform better. And if the people want to see better football, we need to rest. It’s something to just put there, but that’s what I think.”

“I think in the beginning of the season, but now when you end a season very close to another one, maybe you start not in the best shape as possible. When the amount of games starts getting bigger, the performance and quality of the games gets lower. So lets see where football goes. In my opinion, I would prefer to have less but a better quality and show for the people.”

In a staggering revelation from the Manchester City midfielder, it was further explained that football players as a union and community are now close to a stage where they will turn to strike action over the growing football schedule and demands placed on players each season.

“Yeah, I think we’re close to that (going on strike over football fixtures), because it’s easy to understand. I think it’s something in general; if you ask any player, he would say the same. It’s not the opinion of Rodri or whatever, I think it’s the general opinion of the players,” he said.

“And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment where we’ll have no other option, I really think… But let’s see, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But it’s something that worries us, because we are the guys who suffer.”

Manchester City’s 2024/25 season could culminate with a UEFA Champions League final at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, but the season and competitions are likely to continue throughout the summer and into another campaign.

The FIFA Club World Cup will return following a revamp and restructure, as 32 teams embark in a USA-hosted tournament involving some of the greatest footballing sides from across the globe for the chance to be labelled as ‘World Champions’.

Manchester City won the last edition of the tournament in its previous format in light of their UEFA Champions League final success, defeating Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense in Saudi Arabia.