One of the world’s best soccer players said the sport’s packed schedule could lead to a players’ strike opposing the ever-increasing wear and tear on their bodies.
Not even a week later, he was writhing on the grass, asking to be removed from the biggest game on the Premier League calendar this year.
“I think we are close to that,” Rodri said last Tuesday of the possibility of a players’ strike. “It is easy to understand. If you ask any player that, he will say the same. It is not the opinion of [just] Rodri or whoever. It’s the general opinion of players. And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment when we have no other option, I really think. It’s something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer. … When the amount of games starts getting bigger, the performance and quality are lower.”
Sunday, the worst part of his prediction came true. Just 20 minutes into Manchester City’s clash against Arsenal, he left the field with a serious knee injury.
The 28-year-old Rodri has been a favorite for Ballon d’Or and “the best midfield player in the world by far,” according to his Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola. Some outlets including ESPN have reported the injury is likely an ACL tear, but tests have yet to confirm that injury. The Spaniard was photographed back in his home country Monday, reportedly heading for more testing. Either way, he’s out for months.
This year’s Champions League offers a bigger prize ($2.71 billion instead of the $2.2 billion last year) to the winners, but also adds four more clubs and 64 more matches throughout the tournament. The 2025 Club World Cup will include 32 teams instead of just seven, and the 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches, increased from 64 in the past. City is heading into its third match in a week and second match in three days on Tuesday.
Rodri opened the door for other players to begin discussing a potential strike after months of complaining about the increased workload. “Rodri is right,” Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois said the next day. Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker, Barcelona defender Jules Koundé, and Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn have also expressed their support.
FIFPRO, the global players’ association, released an annual workload report earlier this month that backed Rodri’s concerns. The report said the calendar has grown in recent years and provides increased risk to all players, especially younger ones. Chief among the complaints are the international matches and tournaments, which FIFPRO called the “cannibalisation of the match calendar.”
In July, European Leagues, FIFPRO, and LaLiga announced they would file a complaint about FIFA’s expansion of the international calendar to the European Union, saying the governing body has “consistently refused” to include them in scheduling decisions. Their move came a month after the English, French, and Italian players’ unions took similar legal action. FIFA holds that its calendar received full approval from international representatives and accused some leagues of acting with “self-interest, hypocrisy, and without consideration to everyone else in the world.”
