Guys like Rodri are self entitled, they should look at our own Callum McGregor as an example of how to behave…
One of football’s biggest names yesterday came out with a statement that caught everyone’s attention in a media conference on Sky Sports News as the new look Champions League kicked off. It’s only just started and yet we are having complaints from players that the added burden of extra games is becoming a hindrance.
This particular player was Rodri of Manchester City. The Spanish international claimed that the extended fixture calendar has left some players thinking going on strike could be a realistic option. Have you ever heard such self-entitled nonsense?
Yes I get players will feel weary with the physical demands placed on the modern day footballer, and so many fixtures to negotiate, but that’s their job and one that they are very handsomely paid to do.
The average working football supporter would have to work seven years just to earn what Rodri earns in a week! Slaving away at a job they don’t particularly like, but it pays the bills. Something the likes of Rodri wouldn’t understand. They have no idea what the rigours of real life entails to be able to afford a ticket for a football match, and there are many who can’t.
Like most of our supporters, I’d be bitterly disappointed if one of our players were to come away with such claims. Look at our very own captain Callum McGregor. Someone who has played more games than anyone in the European game the past few years, and has done so without any complaints whatsoever.
Callum earns a week what most of us earn in a year, but thankfully Callum appreciates what he has in life, unlike those so called superstars who are just full of self entitlement. Rodri plays for a huge club with a massive squad so it’s up to them to manage his game-time which will surely be the case with one of the top coaches in the world at Manchester City.
As for international football, if it’s all too much then he can decide to retire just as Callum McGregor did last month. Football is becoming a twelve month business as Brendan Rodgers noted in his media conference yesterday, which was attended by The Celtic Star.
While this is true perhaps the increase in games is something to do with the huge salaries that are being paid to the likes of Rodri who has nothing to say on the damage these massive wages are causing in the game.
These guys are paid an extremely high amount of money to do a job we would all love to do. The average supporter would have to work seven years to earn what this particular player earns in a week. This is nothing more than self entitlement. https://t.co/g1gQ7Z86wK
— JustAnOrdinaryBhoy (@ordinarybhoy) September 18, 2024
Callum McGregor played in every single competitive game for Celtic and Scotland in 2023 without complaint. The skipper while paid a more than decent wage, is on considerably less than Man City’s Rodri who is moaning about the number of game he has to play. Callum appreciates… pic.twitter.com/nMEEdFq50b
— JustAnOrdinaryBhoy (@ordinarybhoy) September 18, 2024
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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I’m not sure of the context in which this question was asked or indeed answered but in some ways I think he does have a point.
Of course you are correct that the very top players are now earning sums of money on a weekly basis that you and I can knly dream about however their body is their livelihood and if that body is being continually worked and stressed more and more often then it will ultimately break.
As you pointed out, he could retire from international football but if he gave the reason for retiring as being due to the hard schedule then how many articles would be written about that and what pressure would he come under.
The top players now are lucky if they get two weeks leave every other summer. Due to the European Championships, World Cup, Copa America, if the players nation goes far into the tournament then their main employers are already back in preseason when their tournament is over. A lot of nations are now doing away with the winter break due to fixture congestion so any chance they have to rest their body then has also gone.
A lot of teams now, especially the big clubs, attempt to manage players time on the pitch hoping that they all reach peak fitness at the business end of the season.
Don’t get me wrong I would love to have a few years at that level but I honestly don’t think my body could take the strain of top level training, playing , resting, life cycle.
Rodrie is now probably playing 25% more games than he was a few years ago and while the wealth that brings is magnificent it does take a toll.
Unlike in business in general, the more successful you become as a sports person then the more demands are made on your body.