Haaland and Salah form 'shows benefit of player rest'

3 weeks ago

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BBC Sport shot news reporter

Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah's superb early-season shape illustrates why footballers must get due remainder periods, players' national main Maheta Molango has said.

In their first 3 Premier League matches of nan 2024-25 campaign, Manchester City striker Haaland has scored 7 times and Liverpool guardant Salah has 3 goals and 3 assists.

Neither subordinate featured successful post-season awesome tournaments and were highlighted arsenic lawsuit studies by Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) main executive Molango arsenic a caller subordinate workload monitoring (PWM) study of 1,500 footballers by world national Fifpro was released connected Thursday.

"There is simply a large quality betwixt players who person holidays aliases not," Molango said. "One quality is from England successful Haaland. He is backmost to nan instrumentality he was erstwhile he first joined america successful England, akin to Mo Salah, he is nan champion type of Mo."

The latest investigation into ongoing concerns astir a crowded world shot almanac comes amid legal action against world governing assemblage Fifa being taken by organisations including nan PFA and Fifpro.

Molango says Fifpro has "red lines" connected subordinate use which are:

A maximum of betwixt 50 and 60 matches per season, depending connected a player's age.
A maximum of 5 aliases six weeks' worthy of consecutive back-to-back matches - which are defined arsenic 2 aliases much games successful a azygous week.
A mandatory minimum off-season remainder play of 3 weeks.

Molango added: "We request to protect nan players from themselves. They emotion playing, because they are committed to playing... and they don't want to suffer their starting spot.

"For america it's alarming erstwhile you perceive [Real Madrid coach Carlo] Ancelotti saying 'I whitethorn request to springiness players clip retired during nan season'. I, arsenic a fan, salary 100% of a play ticket. I whitethorn extremity up successful a business wherever I don't spot 100% cent of nan show, I spot a fraction of it."

Bellingham 'could play 1,200 profession games' - what nan study says

Fifpro's 59-page workload study says:

No English subordinate has ever played much minutes by nan property of 21 than Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham (over 19,000 minutes).
Bellingham is projected by nan study to play 1,224 matches complete nan long of his career; surpassing nan 1,002 played by Frank Lampard, nan 895 matches played by Wayne Rooney and 839 played by David Beckham.
Manchester City and England's Phil Foden played 72 matches and Real Madrid and Uruguay's Federico Valverde played 71 matches for nine and state past season.
That is projected to perchance beryllium 77 for Foden and 79 for Valverde successful 2024-25 pinch an extended Champions League and expanded Club World Cup; and successful 2025-26 could beryllium up to 83 (Foden) and 82 (Valverde) pinch a bigger World Cup successful summertime 2026.
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz has played 11,501 minutes by nan property of 21, compared to nan 4,175 played astatine that shape by German shot awesome Michael Ballack.
Real Madrid and Brazil's Vinicius Jr has played 369 games by nan property of 24 compared to 163 matches played by Brazil fable Ronaldinho astatine nan aforesaid age.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

The study includes comments connected nan schedule from immoderate of nan game's biggest names, including Bellingham saying: "It's difficult connected nan assemblage - mentally and physically you are exhausted."

The study listed nan apical 10 players pinch nan highest lucifer load, which takes into relationship matchday squad inclusions arsenic good arsenic appearances.

Julian Alvarez (83)
Phil Foden; Luis Diaz (77)
Rui Patricio (76)
Virgil van Dijk; Nikola Milenkovic, Ollie Watkins, Antonio Silva, Ruben Dias (74)
Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Saud Abdulhamid, Kyle Walker, Aaron Ramsdale (73)

Meanwhile, Tottenham and Argentina defender Cristian Romero tops nan database of players pinch nan astir world recreation successful world football, pinch nan study signaling 163,000km crossed his trips past season. Nine of nan apical 10 players listed were South American.

The study besides looked astatine days worked arsenic an replacement measurement to matches aliases minutes played.

It recovered that - including games, training, recreation and different nine duties specified arsenic media - footballers are having little than nan internationally required 1 time a week off.

Some players successful nan study spent 88% of days successful nan workplace, according to nan report.

However, players' moving days astatine nan training crushed are shorter than different professions and galore will only beryllium successful squads for games and not really play.

Additional study findings from nan 1,500 surveyed were:

54% of players person a 'high aliases excessive workload' - playing complete 40 matches for nine and state successful a azygous season.
One successful six (17%) made complete 55 appearances. Almost a 3rd (30%) of players endured sequences of astatine slightest six consecutive weeks of back-to-back games (two games aliases much per week).
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes is 1 lawsuit study, playing much than 60 matches for each of nan past 5 seasons.
85% of players judge they should not play much than six matches successful a row, pinch much than half suggesting 3 successful a statement should beryllium nan precocious limit.
88% of precocious capacity coaches propose 55 matches should beryllium nan precocious limit of games played successful a azygous season.
More than half (54%) of players surveyed said they person played injured, while 82% of coaches surveyed admitted to fielding players who they knew needed a rest, because of their request to execute a result.

Molango said: "From nan feedback of group who haven't had that rest, they looked shattered and tired. This play will beryllium nan defining season. This play doesn't make immoderate sense."

Why is Fifa facing action?

There are 2 claims against Fifa, including nan associated declare by English, French and Italian players' unions against workload issues successful nan shot calendar, peculiarly aft nan emergence of a caller Club World Cup format starting successful 2025.

There is besides a further title by Fifpro and European Leagues, astir Fifa controlling nan almanac and proposing competitions astatine nan aforesaid time.

However, a CIES Football Observatory report, external connected nan lucifer almanac and shot workload stated that only 5% of each clubs person played 60 aliases much games successful a season, not including friendlies, successful nan past 12 years.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has antecedently defended his organisation, saying it organises "around 1% of nan games of nan apical clubs successful nan world" and generates revenues to create shot "all complete nan world".

Fifa has besides accused immoderate European leagues of "hypocrisy" fixed their pre-season matches and travel.

It is besides not readying to alteration its Club World Cup plans and wrote to Fifpro successful May of this twelvemonth regarding nan ongoing conflict astir consultation connected football's calendar, saying it was acting successful nan "best interests of world football".

Source Sport BBC