Julian Alvarez was included in 83 match-day squads last season. Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, and Phil Foden participated in 72 games. Cristian Romero traveled more than 160,000 kilometers for international matches.
In contrast, Erling Haaland had a summer break without any national-team tournaments and has started the new season with many goals for Manchester City.
On Thursday, FIFPRO, the global union for soccer players, detailed the physical and mental strain on top players from last season. They are using this information in two legal cases against FIFA.
FIFPRO released its yearly Player Workload Monitoring report, which surveyed about 1,500 players. The report supports their legal arguments that players are being asked to do too much without proper consultation about the constant increase in international competitions.
“This season will be the defining season,” FIFPRO board member Maheta Molango said about the busy 2024-25 schedule that will end with the first 32-team Club World Cup, organized by FIFA in the United States.
During a FIFPRO online briefing about the report, officials from player unions in England and France discussed their legal claim against FIFA filed in June at the Brussels Court of Commerce.
They are seeking to have the case referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which ruled on the Super League case last year.
In another legal action, FIFPRO’s European division is joining with domestic leagues to file a complaint with the European Commission in Brussels about FIFA’s decisions to expand its competitions, including the first 48-team men’s World Cup in 2026.
“The gap between those who plan and schedule complex international competitions and those who play and experience them has never been bigger,” FIFPRO policy director Alexander Bielefeld said.
