New Champions League format is tiring enough to follow let alone play in – it’s time to listen to the players
SUPPORTERS are bound to like more top-class football.
But the players? Not so much.
A number of them are so tired at the thought of an expanded football programme in Europe and to an extension of the Club World Cup next summer that they are threatening to strike.
The people who pay to watch ask: Why?
Premier League stars are millionaires and the demand for additional Continental matches means greater fame and bigger earnings.
Players understand this reaction but as Aston Villa captain John McGinn pointed out after the win over Young Boys in a freshly minted Champions League: “At times, the mental side of things you need to switch off.
“It is hard to churn them out when you are playing 70-plus games a season and then internationals. There’s not a lot of time to rest.”
Uefa have added two extra fixtures — it could be four for some — to a competition which had been a straightforward formula of sorting out the better teams from leagues of four clubs.
The new arrangement opens with a league of 36 clubs — a magical confusion of ties in four sections each between clubs of similar standards before knockout matches begin with play-offs just to get into the Last 16.
I don’t know about player fatigue, my own mental side is pretty tired at that lot.
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You might also wonder about the reason behind this restructuring.
Cynics are even suggesting extra profits will appease the Super League rebel crew and circumnavigate any possible future revolution. Uefa and Fifa made the decision that the plot should be altered.
Next summer the refashioned Club World Cup will take its bow and among the clubs competing are Chelsea and Manchester City.
City are going to have a busy summer. No wonder midfielder Rodri talked in strike terms, adding that 40 to 50 matches should be about maximum for a season.
He played 63 competitive games for club and country last season, and featured for 5,598 minutes between July 2023 and July 2024, including pre-season friendlies.
If Rodri is feeling the effects, spare a thought for team-mate Phil Foden, who played 69 competitive games last term and 72 in all.
Some will say City are victims of their own success but that success is becoming a punishment for the players.
And it’s only going to get worse. It’s expected with Prem games, domestic cup competitions, Europe, internationals and the Club World Cup, City’s players could play up to 85 times this season.
No wonder the players are concerned about their own well-being. No one else seems to be giving it a thought.
Players need to be heard
Whilst the men in suits and white trainers sit in Switzerland and extend the football calendar, no one even bothered to seek the opinion of the players.
Liverpool No 1 Alisson said: “Nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games, so maybe our opinion doesn’t matter.”
That’s woeful, as it should matter the most.
As the PFA pointed out: “Players and their unions have asked to be listened to.
“When they are ignored, the natural consequence is that players will begin to consider all options.
“Players are repeatedly saying enough is enough and this must act as a serious wake-up call to authorities.”
I don’t expect a strike but it is reasonable for the men in shorts to ask the men in suits to listen to them.