Rodri says he needs a rest, as extreme match schedule becomes increasingly demanding for players

• Manchester City’s Rodri is the latest player to speak out about the increased workload of elite-level footballers
  
  
• The Spanish midfielder hinted City players may get a break in the coming weeks to combat the situation
  
  
• “I do need a rest,” says Rodri, after already racking up 3,498 minutes for a City side competing on all fronts in the league, domestic cup and UEFA Champions League

Rodri has become the latest player to speak out about the increased workload of elite-level footballers – and hinted Manchester City players may get a break in the coming weeks to combat the situation.

The midfielder, who has played 3,498 minutes for City this season, was speaking after his side’s 3-3 draw against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

City are eyeing a second successive Treble as they are still competing on all fronts in the league, domestic cup and UEFA Champions League.

He said: “I do need a rest. Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust. It [rest] is something we are planning, yeah.”

Rodri’s appearance against Real Madrid was his 41^st appearance of the campaign. Only Phil Foden has played more minutes for City (3,560).

It comes after Rodri experienced a similarly demanding schedule during the 2022/23 season. Going into the 2023 Champions League final, 62 percent of Rodri’s matches were played back-to-back and the Spain international also played 88 minutes per game on average, meaning he nearly always started for club and country and was rarely subbed off.

While Rodri had just enough rest days during his off-season break before the 2022/23 season, thus meeting the minimum recommendation of FIFPRO by one day, he was not afforded any in-season break during the exceptionally congested season, despite FIFPRO’s 14-day recommendation.

Managers also speaking out

Rodri’s comments on extreme workload come just a week after Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said players are struggling to perform at consistent levels because they are being "overloaded".

Ten Hag referred to City's performance in their goalless draw against Arsenal on 31 March, compared to their 3-1 win over United earlier that month.

He said: "You see the levels dropping with them [Manchester City] again, it was a different team to when we faced them. The levels with teams will drop at any moment if we keep going in this process by overloading the international programme."

Player Workload Monitoring

The Player Workload Monitoring Tool from FIFPRO and Football Benchmark is a digital platform tracking the health and workload status of professional footballers around the world. The database covers 1,800 elite footballers: 1,500 men’s players and 300 women’s players.

To access the tool and browse the latest round of workload data, visit HERE.