Man City's Rodri warns of strike action over fixture increase

MANCHESTER - Manchester City midfielder Rodri has warned leading footballers could go on strike if clubs continue to face an ever-expanding schedule.

City, the 2023 Champions League winners, face Italian giants Inter Milan at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, in their first match of the competition's new league phase.

The expanded 36-team tournament will see all clubs play eight league fixtures, with 16 teams to play in an extra two-legged play-off round before the last 16.

City will also compete in an expanded Club World Cup at the end of the season.

"I think we are close to that. I think if you ask any player he will say the same," said Rodri when asked on Tuesday if there was a possibility of players going on strike.

"It is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. I think it's the general opinion of the players."

"And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option, I really think, but let's see," he added.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but it's something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer."

'IMPOSSIBLE TO SUSTAIN THE LEVEL'

City could play as many as 75 games this season, with international players set for an even heavier workload.

"From my experience between 40-50 is the amount of games in which a player can perform in the highest level," Rodri, who made his first City appearance of the season in Saturday's win over Brentford, said.

"After that, you drop because it is impossible to sustain the physical level... Someone has to take care of ourselves because we are the main characters of this sport or business or whatever you want to call it."

City manager Pep Guardiola was more reserved, however, saying: "We are in our first game, then the second and we will see what happens in the last games to go through.

"It is not necessary to look now. It's in the future. We will see."

Rodri's comments echoed those of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, who said players were being ignored by football chiefs when it came to the issue of fixture congestion.

Liverpool are away to AC Milan on Tuesday in their opening fixture.

"Sometimes nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games," Alisson told reporters on Monday.

"Maybe our opinion doesn't matter, but everybody knows what we think about having more games. Everybody's tired of that."

England's Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is involved in two separate legal challenges to FIFA, the sport's global governing body, over the calendar and its introduction of a 32-team Club World Cup.

"This is the year when we can look at the calendar and say clearly 'This doesn't work'. Players see that and they are now experiencing it," PFA chief executive Maheta Molango, responding to Rodri's comments, said.

"Those who run the game must now sit up and take notice."

FIFA is yet to reply to Rodri's remarks, but has previously slammed European leagues for their "commercial hypocrisy".

"Those leagues apparently prefer a calendar filled with friendlies and summer tours, often involving extensive global travel," FIFA said in July.