Modern football is no longer a nine-month affair. The 2024/25 season has seen many players play for nearly 11 months without a break.
The peak of this situation is the record set by midfielder Federico Valverde (Uruguay) this season: 6,116 minutes of playing time in 72 matches - a number that stunned both experts and fans.
For Real Madrid and the Uruguayan national team, Valverde missed only 3 matches throughout the season. According to Marca: Valverde has set a world record for minutes played!
And this is clear evidence of the "exhaustion" that is happening in top-level football.
Another notable case: Luka Modric. At 39, the Croatian veteran has even more appearances (73 games) but fewer minutes because he mainly comes on as a substitute.
It is worth mentioning that the case of midfielders playing for Real Madrid is no exception, many other players such as Bruno Fernandes, Maignan or Pedri have played many minutes far exceeding the recommended threshold (55 matches and 4,500 minutes per season) of the World Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFpro).
Success or exhaustion
Speaking after the 2025 Club World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino affirmed that this is "the most successful club competition in the world", a global event bringing together top clubs and stars.
Behind that glamour, however, lies a hidden reality: physical exhaustion, mental overload and increased injury risk at all levels.
Fifpro has reacted strongly. In a strongly worded statement, President Sergio Marchi called the Club World Cup “a fantasy show” staged by FIFA without consulting those directly involved – the players.
“We cannot continue to play with the health of players to feed a marketing machine,” Marchi stressed, likening FIFA and Infantino to the Roman Emperor Nero, who staged glamorous entertainments to appease public opinion while underneath there was inequality, lack of protection and poor working conditions for those who actually made the game.
When dialogue is overlooked
Tensions between FIFA and Fifpro escalated when Fifpro was not invited to a meeting on player welfare, which took place just before the Club World Cup final – despite the organisation representing more than 66,000 male and female players worldwide.
Previously, Fifpro filed a complaint with the European Union, claiming that FIFA violated competition laws by unilaterally expanding the tournament and stuffing the match schedule.
FIFA still insists it has reached a "consensus" with players' unions on ensuring a 72-hour break between matches, along with a minimum 21-day break after each season.
However, this figure is still lower than the requirement from Fifpro – which recommends a minimum of 28 days off to allow for both physical and mental recovery.
In addition, the extreme temperatures during the Club World Cup held in the US were also condemned by Fifpro. Although President Infantino admitted that “heat is a problem”, suggestions to adjust match times or have a mechanism to protect players have not received a satisfactory response.
Marchi called it an “unacceptable condition” and warned FIFA not to repeat the mistake at the 2026 World Cup.
Profit or people?
Club World Cup, new Champions League format, national championship, national super cup, World Cup qualifiers, Nations League... All are pushing players to the limit.
The schedule is constantly expanding due to commercial pressure and television demands, despite warnings from sports scientists , medical professionals and insiders themselves.
Fifpro’s conclusion is clear: professional football cannot continue to operate on purely economic logic, ignoring the physical limitations of humans. When players are treated as profit-making tools, the quality of the game, the appeal of the game and the sustainability of the whole system are threatened.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/tru-cot-real-madrid-lap-ky-luc-the-gioi-thay-loi-canh-bao-toi-fifa-152197.html
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