Rodri says footballers 'close' to going on strike, as several players voice workload concerns

• Man City midfielder Rodri says players are ‘close’ to striking over the amount of games being added to the match calendar

• Rodri’s comments come just days after Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker, City’s Manuel Akanji and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti also voiced workload concerns 
  
  
• European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe in July announced that they will jointly file a formal complaint to the European Commission on competition law grounds against FIFA regarding the international match calendar

Manchester City midfielder Rodri says players are close to going on strike in protest of the number of games elite-level men’s players are having to endure. Pep Guardiola’s side will play Inter Milan tomorrow in the expanded UEFA Champions League, with the new format adding two extra games before the knockout stage.

City will also compete in this season’s 32-team FIFA Club World Cup – with the final scheduled for 13 July 2025, and with the 2025/26 campaign set to begin just a month after, it leaves players little time for rest amidst a cannibalised match calendar.

"I think we are close to that," said Rodri, speaking to media when asked if it is possible players will strike. "If you ask any player, they will say the same. It’s the general opinion of the players.

"If it keeps [going] this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option, but let's see. It’s something that worries us because we are the ones who suffer."

City played 120 times across all competitions in the last two seasons. Some City players endured over 70 games in the 2023/24 season as a result of club and national team competitions: English midfielder Phil Foden was included in 77 matchday squads and made 72 appearances, while City’s former Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez was included in 83 matchday squads and made 75 appearances.

Club appearances could increase this campaign: in the newly-introduced Club World Cup alone, City could play three group games and four knockout matches if they were to go all the way in USA.

City defender Manuel Akanji joked about retiring at 30 because of the relentless schedule. "It's so tough," said Akanji on Sunday. "You don't just think about this season - but also next season. Let's say we win the league or cup, then go to the final of the Club World Cup; the Community Shield is three weeks after. So, when do we have holidays?

"There are no breaks in winter, so if we are lucky we get two weeks and then we need to be back and into next season. Then the next summer it's the World Cup. There's no end to it."

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker yesterday said players are not being listened to about workload and the match calendar.

Speaking to media ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League fixture with AC Milan, he said: "Sometimes nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games. Maybe our opinion doesn't matter, but everybody knows what we think about having more games. Everybody's tired of that."

The managers are also tired of it. Speaking ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League meeting with Stuttgart, Carlo Ancelotti said: "The problem is a calendar that's too demanding. Now we have a new competition [the Champions League]. We don't know how it will go, if it will be more entertaining, but the one fact is that we have two extra games.

"I call for people to think about cutting the number of games, to have more attractive competitions."

Legal claim

European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe in July announced that they will jointly file a formal complaint to the European Commission on competition law grounds against FIFA regarding the international match calendar.

A statement published in July read: "The international match calendar is now beyond saturation and has become unsustainable for national leagues and a risk for the health of players. FIFA's decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interests, neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, and harmed the economic interests of national leagues and the welfare of players.

"National leagues and player unions, which represent the interests of all clubs and all players at the national level, and regulate labour relations through collectively agreed solutions, cannot accept that global regulations are decided unilaterally.

"Legal action is now the only responsible step for European leagues and player unions to protect football, its ecosystem and its workforce from FIFA’s unilateral decisions."

The joint formal complaint came a month after FIFPRO Europe member unions submitted a legal claim against FIFA, challenging the legality of FIFA's decisions to unilaterally set the international match calendar and, in particular, the decision to create and schedule the Club World Cup.