Manchester City star RAGES over 'crazy' FIFA plan change – claiming players 'weren't consulted'

Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez of Manchester City interact during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool FC at Etihad Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester City are set to play their Club World Cup semi-final against Urawa Reds on Tuesday night, but one key player is concerned with future changes implemented by FIFA.

From 2025, FIFA will expand the Club World Cup to 32 teams and move the tournament to the summer, meaning more games and less opportunity for players to rest and recover. 

Manchester City and Chelsea have already confirmed their spots in that edition of the tournament, due to their recent Champions League wins. And while the clubs will welcome the expansion, due to more opportunities to earn more money, some players certainly aren't happy with the decision taken by FIFA.

Pep Guardiola head coach of Manchester City gives instructions during the MD-1 training prior Urawa Reds v Manchester city at King Abdullah Sports City on December 18, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

City are preparing at the Club World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

“We were not consulted but we try to do our job,” Manchester City star Bernardo Silva said

“The reality is that the amount of games we have nowadays, and even more with the new competitions, it’s a bit crazy because of the lack of rest players get, and then the risk of injuries goes up quite a lot.

“In my opinion, for people who love the game, if we have this many games for so long, in the end the games will lose the energy, will lose the intensity. I think it is a top competition so no complaints, but the amount of games and the [schedule] we have nowadays makes it complicated to be fit all the time and for our energy levels to be proper to play well.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 4: Bernardo Silva of Manchester City in action during the Premier League match between Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium on November 4, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Silva isn't happy with the decision taken by FIFA (Image credit: Getty Images)

The introduction of the Club World Cup will mean European players playing in the tournament won't have a summer off until 2027, due to Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026

Silva did recognise that elite-level players wanting to win the biggest honours in football will have no choice but to deal with the schedule, suggesting they're victims of their own success. 

“I am not going to lie, sometimes I feel tired," he admitted. "We play every three days, we don’t rest. We have no Christmas, we have no summer.

"But that’s the price you pay for being at a top club and fighting for all competitions, and in the end our dream was to play at this level.”

More Manchester City stories

Rodri recently called for action to be taken to stop European football losing more stars to Saudi Arabia.

Pep Guardiola has discussed his future, teasing Juventus as a potential destination in the future.

Meanwhile, Shaun Wright-Phillips has told FFT that his former club could go on to win 10 Premier League titles in a row.

Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.