Football conversation over the past few weeks has started to be dominated by the notion of a player strike, something that Man City ace, Rodri, brought to national attention in a recent press conference.
In the days that followed, players from other high profile clubs across the continent added weight to Rodri’s comments, and, in an ironic slice of bad luck, the Man City midfielder is now likely to be out for the season because of a knee injury.
Whilst it would seem that an impact with an Arsenal player was the probable cause, there is no argument that players are more fatigued these days, even at the beginning of league competition – which can’t be allowed to continue.
Player strike appears imminent after Rodri’s clarion call
Former super agent and one of the people that helped to set up the Premier League, Jon Smith believes we’re not too far away from a strike that would see a seismic power shift in the game.
“As far as player welfare is concerned, I think there is a growing sentiment that strike action has been coming for a while,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“[…] I think the people that run the game have been able to see an opportunity to capture this huge spending ability from global football fans, and so they put in more competitions, bigger broadcast rights, bigger sponsorship values and inherent in all of that is pushing players to play more games.
“[…] If a club has a player that’s earning in excess of £100,000 per week, they’ll want to get him back on the field as soon as possible, maybe a week too early, but playing those extra games is just not commensurate with the welfare of the players.
“I think there comes a tipping point and it’s very close, and I think Rodri and his associates have got a very valid point. I would certainly support it.”
The crunch will likely come as more and more elite players pick up niggles or, in the worst cases, more serious and long-term injuries.
As Smith notes, something could happen soon, and the impending Club World Cup in 2025 looks as though it could be in real danger too.
The competition has undergone a format change and given that it seems to have been done purely as a way of generating more revenue, and the fact that it finishes just three weeks before the start of the 2025/26 season, there’s a cogent argument that players might just refuse to play in it.
Photo by Oli Scarff / AFP