Rodri of Manchester City has participated in conversations with club executives to convey his apprehensions about the potential danger of burnout. The accomplished midfielder from Spain participated in 56 matches last season, missing only five games as he contributed significantly to City's historic Treble achievement.
In Pep Guardiola's squad, Rodri emerged as the player with the most appearances, accumulating an impressive 4,465 minutes of playtime throughout the campaign. The closest outfield contender to this feat was Erling Haaland, who played 349 minutes less – an approximate difference of nearly four games.
Standing as the sole Premier League athlete to surpass Rodri's tally is Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, who accrued over 5,000 minutes across all competitions.
However, Rodri candidly disclosed his apprehensions about repeating such a demanding workload, particularly due to concerns of fatigue amplified by the introduction of extended stoppage time during matches – a matter that has already been criticised by his teammate Kevin De Bruyne.
‘I don’t remember exactly the number of games I played, but I had a talk with the club and the coach because it’s not healthy,’ Rodri said.
‘You can do it for one season, but when it’s two or three in a row, it can be worse for the team because your physicality can drop. So I have to watch out. We have already spoken that, it cannot always be like this.’
Rodri continued: ‘The important thing for me is that they know the situation and they know that for the next few seasons we will have to watch out.
‘Now I am young, but maybe when I get to 30 or 31 I cannot do this kind of thing, so I have to watch the body because 60 games is not the best thing for a player. Also, the seasons get even longer every year. We have to adapt to this.’