Kylian Mbappé has warned of the dangers of overworking players, amid expanding Champions League and World Cup formats.
UEFA’s elite club competition will take unprecedented form next season, with the old group stage abandoned in favor of a new league and knockout format that will see four teams additional participants to participate and two additional group matches to be added. FIFA also announced its own 32-team Club World Cup from 2025, as well as the expanded international tournament from 2026, which will welcome 16 new nations in a 48-team competition.
Mbappé and Varane reveal their fed up
In an interview with GQ, Mbappé admitted he did not mind playing more often, but believed the quality of football would suffer. “We are getting closer to the NBA model with seasons of seventy games. Personally, I’m not against playing so much, but we won’t be able to be good every time and give the audience the expected show. »
“In the NBA, players do not play every game and franchises practice load management (resting players who are not injured). But today, if I decided to say ‘I’m tired, I’m not playing on Saturday’, it wouldn’t work. The spectator who pays for his ticket, and who may only see you once a season, wants to attend a performance worthy of the name and that is normal. But it is another mode of management to which football is exposed if the number of matches increases. I don’t want to give lessons, but we must think together to succeed in offering the best possible show and so that players, spectators and authorities come together. »
Mbappé is not the first player to highlight potential problems with football’s seemingly endless expansion. His former teammate in the French team, Raphaël Varane, was more serious in his opposition, affirming that the players’ careers would be “much shorter” due to the too high number of matches. Indeed, this season has seen an unprecedented number of injuries, with Premier League clubs alone having 161 players sidelined at present (according to Premierinjuries.com).
