2024-10-02 16:10:40
The bosses are looking for options for even greater profits, but the players are exhausted from the workload and are already negotiating a strike
Do you remember that first most unpleasant moment when something under the hood starts howling after turning the key in the starter? You listen hoping there’s been a mix-up and the unpleasant sound is actually coming from a forgotten soda can. But the sad sound doesn’t go away no matter how much you turn up your favorite Metallica track. It’ll be another day or two before you face the harsh reality that the car will have to go into the pits again for expensive repairs.
Something similar is happening in world football. The difference is that something has been seriously creaking there for a long time. Many of the fans felt it already during the European football championship. Some of the main characters were a pale shadow of their former selves. Kylian Mbappé, for example, looked like a child forced to take piano lessons. He looked sadly at the ground and expected an hour soon to be released to occupy himself with far more pleasant things. His teammates also played without much desire and despite reaching the semi-finals, the majority of fans gave their performance a poor rating.
And since we allowed ourselves to comment on the game of a superstar like Mbappe, it is appropriate to note that his first steps in “Real” (Madrid) were not the easiest. It was good that he had the full support of his teammates and the public to to relax from the initial shock and start playing as a player for several hundred million euros. Along with his troubles, there was also criticism of the performance of some of the incredibly talented and highly paid boys in the English Premier League increase the music.
And what is the problem under the hood? The players are tired, no, they are simply crushed by the huge physical and mental loads. In the summer they had to participate in the European and then travel the world with their club teams to gather new supporters and earn money for their bosses. After that, the domestic championships began, then they started the European tournaments, and now it’s time for new matches with the national teams. And the worst thing for them is that it is not known when they will have a chance to rest fully again. It certainly won’t be around the Christmas and New Year holidays, as due to the new rules in the Champions League, matches will also be played in January.
It’s getting harder and harder for big football stars to pull the trigger, but business is going so well that nobody cares how anyone feels. The bosses of world football sit meekly in their air-conditioned offices and wonder how to squeeze more and more out of the commodity they sell to the rest of the world. But the commodity in question has a heart and soul and sooner or later will decide to rebel against its masters. The big names in the field are increasingly openly talking about rebelling against the new orders. These days, the most likely next Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri, has stepped into the role of their spokesman. When asked during a press conference if he was really ready to stand on the barricade, the Spanish international replied: “There will be a moment when we won’t have another choice, but let’s see… This is something that worries us because we are the ones who suffer”. The Manchester City midfielder logged a total of 6,107 minutes on the pitch while representing club and country in the 2023/24 season. If fit, he is expected to have even more commitments this year and he has clearly had enough to the throat.
Rodri is aware that organizing a large-scale protest is a difficult task, but he can count on the support of Fifpro, which is a sort of football union with 65,000 professional footballers. Most of them look with horror at what awaits them in the coming months and a year or two. They will certainly need to give more in their national teams. The number of participants in the 2026 World Cup was increased from 32 to 46, which also means more matches during the tournament. At the same time, UEFA has already cracked down on the lax controls of national teams, which gave players a chance to see friends, swim in the pool and then get stomped on the pitch. The Nations League is actually a serious tournament that has turned friendlies into serious battles, and coaches are forced to use the best they have and push their players to play hard from the first minute to the last. And let’s not forget FIFA’s intention to organize a club world championship next summer.
Little is known about the tournament so far, but the idea is to bring together the 32 best clubs from around the world. This is effectively a mini World Cup, which in turn means that the players with the busiest schedules will have another serious commitment on their shoulders. It is curious that some of the giants of the Old Continent were worried not so much about the danger of further blackening the lives of their workers, but about rumors of too modest financial bonuses for the winners.
“We hear that the winner’s prize will be 20 million euros, but our team earns that much for one match during its summer tour outside Spain,” calculated the coach of “Real” (Madrid) Carlo Ancelotti. Fifa bosses have apparently listened to such complaints and are already in talks with the Saudis (who will apparently once again be invited to be the main sponsors of a mega sporting event) to loosen the purse strings and prepare fat bonuses for the teams that will travel to the USA next year , to participate in the new format. It is extremely clear that the white-collar workers will find out about the money and the victims will be the players again. Yes, and they collect fat salaries, but sometimes money is not everything in this life.
It turns out that they simply do not have free time to spend at least a small part of what they earn on the field. According to Fifpro statistics, an elite league player’s time off has dropped to just 12% of the calendar year, which equates to less than one full day off a week. Specialists in sports medicine are adamant that such high levels of physical exertion are a scourge for a football player’s health. Rhodri confirmed these concerns. In the game against Arsenal, he grabbed his knee and left the field, and it was later reported that he will be out for a long time. Now at least the Spanish international will get the necessary rest not only to heal the injury, but also to consider whether it is really worth it to gather like-minded people and go on a rebellion against the established rules.