When Man City ace Rodri claimed that the time is coming for players to start hitting because of the amount of games being played, the football world sat up and took notice. Now Jules Kounde has also thrown his weight behind the discussion.
The Barcelona ace has played his part in his side’s brilliant start to the season under Hansi Flick, with none of the club’s first-team stars showing the ill effects of representing their countries over the summer.
Kounde supports Rodri regarding player attacks
Kounde was part of the French team that was eliminated from the Euros by the eventual winners, Spain.
It’s clear he’s also unhappy with the way UEFA and FIFA flog their players week after week, with no real breaks in the summer as more and more tournaments are given the green light.
For example, the extended Club World Cup ends just three weeks before the start of the 2024/25 season, an unsustainable situation.
??? Jules Koundé: “Every year we have more games and less rest”.
“The players have been saying it for 3-4 years now but no one pays attention to us”.
“The time will come when we will have to go on strike to make ourselves heard, as Rodri said.” pic.twitter.com/EjxUmcjtFT
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 18, 2024
“Every year we have more games and less rest,” Kounde was quoted as saying by CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on X.
“The players have been saying this for 3-4 years, but no one pays attention to us. The time will come when we will have to go on strike to make ourselves heard, as Rodri said.”
Now that what was once a taboo topic is being discussed regularly among senior players, the powers that be need to sit up and take notice.
For the best players in the world to even seriously consider not playing for club or country to get their point across must be a real concern for the authorities.
Whether they will continue to push forward with their own plans or listen to the players remains to be seen in the coming months, but it’s clear they don’t want to play a game of brinksmanship at this stage.
Top photo by Oli Scarff / AFP
