De Bruyne: FIFA values money more than players

Manchester City midfielder and Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne said money talks louder to FIFA and UEFA as he raised concerns over the impact of a crammed calendar on players’ health and performance.

All three European club competitions have been expanded to 36 teams this season and FIFPRO’s European member unions have started legal action against FIFA over the expanded men’s 32-team Club World Cup, starting next June in the United States.

The 33-year-old was asked if he is concerned about the added fixtures in both club and international competitions. “The real problem will emerge after the Club World Cup,” De Bruyne told reporters ahead of Friday’s Nations League match against Israel. Belgium went onto win the game 3-1 with De Bruyne scoring twice.

“We know there will be only three weeks between the Club World Cup final and the first Premier League match. So, we have three weeks to rest and prepare for another 80 matches.”

In July, soccer players’ union FIFPRO said it is filing a complaint with EU antitrust regulators regarding FIFA’s international match calendar.

A report released by FIFPRO on Thursday said some players have as little as 12% of the year to rest, which is a result of competition organisers not prioritising player welfare.

“Maybe this year things will be OK, but next year could be problematic. The Professional Footballers’ Association in England and other player associations have tried to find solutions,” he added.

“The issue is that UEFA and FIFA keep adding extra matches, and we can raise concerns, but no solutions have been found. It seems that money speaks louder than the players’ voices.”

A report by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) said there was no clear evidence of a rise in elite player workload since the 2000s.

The independent research centre in Switzerland, which was founded in 1995 in a joint venture including FIFA, reported reigning Club World Cup champions City played nearly 63% of their official matches in league-organised competitions during the 2023-2024 season.

Club friendlies accounted for 4.8% of City’s total games while FIFA-organised fixtures made up 3.2% and UEFA matches represented 17.7%.

Last season, England recorded the highest number of domestic back-to-back matches (87) among top European leagues, with Premier League clubs averaging the shortest recovery time between games at 67.3 hours.