Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola has intimated that only industrial action will see football halted in its interminable march to chase money through increasing its offering.
City have just lost star midfielder Kevin de Bruyne to an injury likely to keep him out for several months, which will no doubt have a major impact on their season, plans and not to mention the player himself.
Speaking to Movistar+ ahead of the European Supercup clash with Sevilla, Guardiola lamented the fact that there was barely any break for footballers these days.
“The seasons are continuous, there are no more holidays.”
“They make you go to Asia, to the United States, they make you play very strong matches, and people go down and will continue to to go down. The show must go on and if De Bruyne is not there, another will come. If Courtois is not there, they have already signed Kepa. If Militao is not there, there will be another.”
“On top of that they are adding more minutes onto the games, games of 110, 120 minuites. At the end of the season, we won’t have played 38 games, we will have played 43. Then FIFA is adding more games at the World Cup.”
Pep Guardiola, en directo:
"Esto es una batalla perdida hasta que los jugadores se planten y digan 'no jugamos'. Y encima ahora metiendo más minutos… ". #LaCasaDelFútbol pic.twitter.com/hLq3ITE1D4
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) August 15, 2023
Guardiola was previously asked whether he saw any scope for change.
“It’s a lost battle until, until the players stop and say we’re not playing any more.”
“There’s nothing else for it, not FIFA, not UEFA, there’s nothing else that can be done. And on top of it all, we keep adding more minutes. 10, 11 minutes onto the game.”
“Imagine a game where one team is wasting time, wasting time all game until it goes 1-0 (to the other team). Then that team has 15 extra minutes to get the winner. Does it make sense? No.”
“They will look for more, but they have to look for quality. The players will play as they are, but they have to be fresh.”
Certainly it is hard to argue any of the points that Guardiola has made. Thibaut Courtois has been one of the most vocal about the heavy schedule affecting players, and missed around two months of action last season through injury, before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament at the start of this campaign. Whether players would feel powerful enough to unionise is up for debate, with agents and governing bodies encouraging them to keep going.
