“We Are Close To It”: Rodri Thinks Strikes Due To Too Many Games Are Conceivable

City professional warns

European champion Rodri of Manchester City believes that a strike by football professionals is conceivable in view of the ever-increasing number of games. Before the English champions’ opening game in the Champions League against Inter Milan on Wednesday (9 p.m.), when asked whether players could refuse to play, the Spaniard said: “I think we’re close to that. I think you can ask any player you want, they’ll say the same thing.”

The 28-year-old stressed that this was not his personal opinion, but the general view of the players. “If this continues, I really think there will come a moment when we have no other option. But we will see,” he said. The players are the ones “who suffer”. Due to the expansion of the Champions League from 32 to 36 clubs and the new format, each club has two more games. If they do not manage to make it directly into the round of 16, the play-offs will increase the number of games. Given the number of competitions, top clubs like Manchester City could play 75 or even 80 games in a season. For the national team players, it is even more.

“In my humble opinion, that’s too much. I think we have to look after ourselves. Someone has to look after us because we are the main actors in this sport or business,” said Rodri. It’s not just about money or marketing, but also about the quality of the show. Rodri made 61 appearances last season – including international matches. The top figure was achieved by his former teammate Julián Alvarez (Atlético Madrid), who played 69 games. However, the Argentinian “only” played 4,525 minutes, while Rodri played 5,275. The top field player is Declan Rice from Arsenal FC with 5,563 minutes. Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak even managed 6,075 minutes in 67 games.

In Rodri’s experience, a professional can play 40 to 50 games at the highest level. In his view, the impact a break in the summer can have is demonstrated by his teammate Erling Haaland, who is currently in outstanding form. The Norwegian striker did not qualify for the European Championship with the national team and started the new season with nine goals in four league games. “He is now back to the beast we saw in the early days,” said Rodri.