Manchester City midfielder Rodri has warned that top footballers may consider striking if clubs continue to grapple with an increasingly demanding schedule.
City, the 2023 Champions League winners, are set to face Italian giants Inter Milan at the Etihad Stadium tonight in their first match of the competition’s new league phase.
This expanded 36-team tournament, where each club plays eight league fixtures, marks a significant departure from the original European Cup, which included only reigning national champions.
City will also compete in an expanded Club World Cup at the end of the season.
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“Yes, I think we are close to that,” said Rodri when asked if there was a possibility of players going on strike. “If it keeps this way we will have no other option. It is something that worries us.”
City manager Pep Guardiola was more reserved, however, saying: “We are in our first game, then the second and we will see what happens in the last games to go through.
“It is not necessary to look now. It’s in the future. We will see.”
Spain star 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.
Liverpool were away to AC Milan yesterday in their opening fixture.
“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.”