Manchester City midfielder Rodri made some comments on Tuesday that were picked up by publications worldwide.
The Spaniard spoke to reporters ahead of the club’s first Champions League game with Inter – a re-run of the 2022 final, of course.
It is expected that Rodri will start the game, having only come on at half-time for City in their game against Brentford at the weekend.
Ahead of the clash, £63 million signing Rodri faced the media. And he fielded a number of questions about one topic in particular; the number of games that could be played this season.
Rodri has suggested that players are now close to going on strike due to the amount of games they are potentially having to play – but Paul Merson has criticised the star.
Paul Merson unhappy with Rodri after comments about too many games
Players are starting to become more vocal about this particular issue.
Recently, Manuel Akanji suggested that he would have to retire by the age of 30 due to the overload of matches.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker also called for a reduction in the number of games to improve the quality of matches.
Former Manchester United defender Raphael Varane became one of the first high-profile Premier League players to speak out against the schedule last season.
Ahead of the game with Inter, Rodri said (via BBC Sport): “I think we are close to that (players striking).
“If it keeps this way, it will be a moment that we have no other option, but let’s see.”
Rodri – who also spoke about his future at the press conference – has had a lot of support following his comments. But one man who doesn’t agree with him is Paul Merson, who believes his comments are a bit tone-deaf in the context of life.
He said on Sky Sports: “You’re playing for the top teams, you’re going to be playing the most games. For me, he shouldn’t say it.
“Even if you think it, don’t say it. There’s going to be people who won’t be able to pay their electricity bills. They’re on 200 grand a week, they play the best sport in the world.
“We’d all love to be playing again still, it goes that quickly, enjoy it while you can. The most important thing is to stay fit and keep on playing.
“Sometimes people have a go at footballers that they live in a bubble and they’re a million miles away from reality. When people come out and say things like that it sort of sums it up. You can’t be saying that. You might be able to say it between yourselves, but don’t come out publicly and say it.”
Some will agree with Merson
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Rodri will probably come in for criticism from others for what he has said.
Many of the top players are paid huge amounts of money every week, and such comments about going on strike won’t leave many feeling too sympathetic.
But you can also understand it from Rodri and the players’ point of view.
They do play a lot of games and the strain on the body must be huge at times. And the more games that are played, the more likely it is that the product suffers.
It will be interesting to see if this goes any further and if the players do take action.
