'The biggest loudmouths': Simon Jordan hits out at Rodri after Manchester City star's threat over players' strike
Simon Jordan has slammed the idea of a possible player strike following Rodri's criticism of the revamped football calendar.
He Manchester City The midfielder suggested that the best players are close to going on strike due to overwork in the midst of extensions of several competitions.
The emergence of the UEFA Nations League along with this season's restructured Champions League format could see some players feature in as many as 75 games over the course of a season.
Some stars will see their summer holidays disrupted by the new 32-team FIFA Club World Cup to be played in the United States in June and July 2025.
Success on all fronts for Pep Guardiola's men could be seen Rodri will play in 85 matches by the end of the FIFA Club World Cup and the Spaniard has asked the authorities to take better care of the players and not just think about money.
Rodri's comments echoed his teammate's earlier concerns. Bernardo Silva.
Liverpool Goalkeeper Alisson has also expressed his displeasure and Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos has urged decision-makers to think about the players in the current climate.
As discontent grows in European football, former… Crystal Palace Owner Jordan has questioned the logistics of a player strike, particularly for most Premier League players who play an adequate number of games per season.
“How are you going to square that circle when you have a select group of players who play a certain amount of time?” Jordan told talkSPORT.
“In the Premier League, the average player plays for 14 clubs that don't have any major competitions and probably plays 42 games a season.
“How are you going to justify these players going on strike? If the big names in football want to go on strike, let them have their hands full.”
Jordan continued: “If you want to go against the contracts that you have and if the contracts violate your obligations or their obligations to you, then you go and strike.
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“We are talking about the biggest clubs, with the most resources, with whom players want to sign to play in the most important tournaments, who have the biggest support systems with the highest economic returns, they are the ones who talk the most.”
Jordan, who agreed that anything over 75 games per season is too much, proposed that players who no longer want to commit to the onslaught of games enter into talks with employers about a new conditional deal.
“If you sign a contract with your employer that has certain criteria associated with it, you will have complete control over your destiny,” Jordan said.
“If you don't want to play in a certain number of games, then you have the right to tell your employer: 'I have to manage myself.'”
“(Alan) Shearer decided, when he was 29, to go his own way and retire from international football. You can do whatever you want, however you want.”
Alternatively, Jordan has urged players to speak directly to their clubs and international officials to manage their workload by asking to be excluded from certain competitions.
“If you don't want to play for your country, don't play,” he said.
“If you don't want to play in the League Cup games, go to your manager and say: 'I'm prepared not to be selected for those games'.
“If you don't want to play in the FA Cup, don't play in the FA Cup. If you don't want to sign for a Champions League club, don't sign for one.
“The bottom line is that the reasons I oppose it are that there is no interest in sitting at the table to look for pragmatic solutions, there is interest in sitting at the table to tell you what they don't want to do.
“If the idea is that we're going to have a reset, then we're basically going to reduce the revenue that comes into the game, then you as players need to accept the reality of what that means.
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“That means that if there is a 20 percent reduction in income, you will all be 20 percent worse off.
“I can tell you without hesitation that it would be rejected out of hand.”
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