Several players and officials at FC Barcelona have recently voiced their criticism of UEFA and FIFA for their lack of concern for players’ health when scheduling international and club matches.
The annual calendars have become increasingly grueling for top players in the last few years, as they have to play more and more matches and get very little time to rest between matches.
One of the results of such a tight schedule for the players is an increased frequency of injuries, which Barcelona have already suffered from this season. In fact, the club was highly critical of the RFEF for its handling of Gavi, who suffered a torn ACL while on international duty with Spain.
However, Barcelona cannot only point their fingers at these organizing bodies, as their own planning has not seemingly taken the players’ health as a top priority either. This is clear from the organization of a friendly to be played in the USA after the La Liga match against Almeria before the Christmas break.
According to Barcelona’s plans, the Catalan team will face Almeria on 20th December at the Montjuic, and after only a gap of 25 hours, they will be playing a friendly against the Mexican side, Club America, in Dallas, USA.
In addition to the fatigue accumulated from this match, the players will also have to take two 14-hour long flights and will have a very short recovery period between these two games.
This is a sure recipe for injuries and will cost the players, especially after the Christmas break when the business end of the season kicks off.
However, Barcelona can earn up to €4 million for this three-day excursion, and it is clear that the club is prioritizing money over its players’ health.
According to SPORT, the players have already complained to the club, as they do not want to go because of the risk and the required effort. Barcelona has tried to convince the players to remain quiet and take part in this friendly in exchange for a bonus of €100,000 for each individual.
