The Real Madrid player has added his voice to a growing concern previously cited by Rodri and Koundé, stating: “We could play more than 70 games this year, it’s crazy.”
More and more professional footballers are speaking out over the physical demands that the 2024-25 season presents with players potentially playing between 70-80 games over the season following the expanded Champions League and the introduction of FIFA’s new 32 team Club World Cup which is penciled for July-July next year.
Rodri, Toni Kroos, Jules Kounde are just a handful of high profile stars who have all voiced their concerns with the packed fixture list with Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal the latest to air his worries with the 32-year-old claiming that the hypothetical call for a strike by footballers due to the intense schedule of matches “is a possibility” and that it is the players who have to “speak up”.
Speaking to the media ahead of the ‘Topuria: Matador’ premiere in the Spanish capital, the defender added: “It is a possibility, of course. The players are not being counted on. And we are the ones who have to speak up”.
Manchester City’s Rodri Hernandez was the first high profile player to contemplate that some form of ‘strike’ could be a possibility with Carvajal agreeing with his ‘La Roja’ teammate: “Yes, I think we are close to that.” “I think if you ask any footballer, they will tell you the same thing. It is not just Rodri’s opinion. I think it is the opinion of many players and, if this continues, there will come a time when there is no other option. I don’t know what will happen, but it is something that worries us because we are the ones who suffer from it,” he added.
Barcelona defender Jules Koundé also defended Rodri’s stance: “I agree with what Rodri said. The calendar is getting longer, there are more and more games, less time to rest and more injuries. Players have been complaining for three or four years, but no-one listens to us. There will come a time when we will have to go on strike. Now, with the Club World Cup, there will be more games and we can play about 70 a year. It’s crazy.”