Top stars consider action as chief warns World Cup will be 'survival of the fittest'

Players' union chief Maheta Molango has revealed footballers have discussed taking action because they are “being pushed to the limit.” Molango has warned this summer’s World Cup will end up being a “survival of the fittest” because players are suffering from burnout, they are facing frightening conditions and claims no-one is listening to their concerns.

Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Molango said: “The World Cup should be the culmination of a dream but the reality is that it will be the survival of the fittest. It’s not right.

“Let’s go to the root of the problem. It cannot be the survival of the fittest. Now you see games which are not won by the best team, they are won by the fittest. The players are superheroes. They are also very well paid. But that does not mean they should be pushed to the limit from a human perspective.

“There is a real risk of the player. And for those who don’t care about that, there’s a real risk to the product because people will pay thousands of pounds to watch people ‘walking’ at best.

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“Maybe the players need to self regulate. That friendly you have organised, I’m not going to play it. The authorities have decided to encroach, we live in a world of bullies and they think you can just bully your way through.

“But unfortunately, people don’t seem to realise they are dealing with human beings and those human beings are not as stupid as maybe they think they are. They understand the power of the collective. They are not dumb. They are smart and switched on.

Van Dijk has played most minutes in Europe's top 5 leagues

According to Opta data, 19 Premier League players who have already played more than 4,000 minutes in all competitions this season are heading into the World Cup. Across Europe’s big five leagues, there are 11 Premier League players in the top 20 of total minutes played.

Liverpool ’s Virgil van Dijk tops that list with 4,761 minutes played and his team-mate, Dominik Szoboszlai, is fourth with 4,556 minutes. The highest-placed Englishman is Aston Villa ’s Morgan Rogers (11th) with 4382 minutes played.

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Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest players feature high up the list due them all competing in European competitions and playing regular international football. Last year’s Fifpro report into player workload, looking at the 2024-25 season including the expanded Club World Cup, was critical of "unprecedentedly long and congested seasons”, recommending minimum four-week close season breaks and winter breaks.

In September 2024 Manchester City midfielder Rodri claimed players were “close” to taking strike action following his own 63-game season. He then ruptured his ACL later that month.

FIFA and UEFA have both been criticised for expanding the World Cup, the Club World Cup and the Champions League, and adding in the Conference League. The English domestic season has made some small concessions such as scrapping FA Cup replays, but has kept the League Cup in place.

Maheta continued: “I was talking to one player who said to me: ‘I don’t drink, I don’t go out, I could not do more to be fit but I’m injured.’ He said to me, ‘You were right! When you came to see us two years ago about the calendar, we listened, but… you were right.’

“There was one occasion this year in this country where they said to me: ‘Should we think about doing something?’ The reality is that we never really put the focus on domestic competition because it’s the bread and butter of our players.

“Most of their income comes from the domestic competitions. We have always danced to the tune of others. But let me tell you, this is a generation of players who are so smart, so switched on, so committed and they see the bigger picture.”

Molango held up the example of Spanish stars refusing to play a La Liga game overseas and that, he says, should remind everyone that the players have the power - and are ready to stand up. “La Liga have done a fantastic job over the years,” he said.

“They wanted to play a game in Miami. They did their usual and just decided to crack on. The players just said we are not going. In the end, the game was cancelled.

“If there’s one league with strong leadership, it’s La Liga. There was no game because the players realised they are the product. You can sell tickets but we are not going.

“That should have been a wake-up for football. If the players are not there. There is no game. They need to understand what the players think.”

Molango went to the Premier League’s Summer Series in the United States last summer but has also spoken to players who played in the Club World Cup last year.

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Chelsea ’s Enzo Fernandez called the temperatures “incredible” and “dangerous” at the Club World Cup, saying they left him feeling “really dizzy”. Molango said: “The temperatures, climate and lunchtime kick-offs were a huge concern. In fairness, FIFA listened over kick-off times and venues when it came to scheduling. But concerns are still there ahead of this summer.

“I went to the Premier League summer series. I went to a game in Philadelphia at 3pm and with the temperatures, I couldn’t breath. The games were back to back and the difference between the early and the later games were like night and day,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to players directly who said to me they couldn’t breathe. The grass is so dry because they are American Football pitches. You go to Atlanta and the pitch is so dry. They are not playing NFL.”

Kane, Rice and Bellingham care about football pyramid

The remarkable thing about the PFA is that it is a trade union where millionaire superstars buy into it as much as journeyman players plying their trade in League One and Two. Molango believes that is the biggest strength and why players are now ready to stand up and make a difference. He says they are together and are standing strong.

He added: “You need to remember that most of them come from the football pyramid. Even the national team. Harry Kane has played for Leyton Orient. I don’t need to explain to him what it means. I don’t need to explain it to Kyle Walker. Declan Rice was rejected from an academy.

“They get it. Jude Bellingham played in the Championship with Birmingham City. I don’t need to tell him what it means. They get it. It’s not just a fight for them because it’s also a fight for whatever comes next.

“I loved an expression from the Lionesses. ‘We want to leave the shirt in a better place.’ The Kim Littles, Leah Williamson. It’s not just about themselves. They want to leave a legacy and to leave the shirt in a better place. That was not necessarily the case 20 years ago.

“I’ve got captains calling me and some are not even in the starting XI but they call me because they care. Both on the men’s and women’s side.

“What is for sure, the PFA is here for the right reasons. People will not just bully through when they want. Luckily, we live in a country with laws and that will always be the last resort. The days of thinking the players are the weakest link are over. They are the strongest link.”

Rice facing 70-game season - there is no sympathy

Molango also claimed that Arsenal midfielder Rice will get “no sympathy” if he turns up at the World Cup exhausted from a marathon season. The PFA chief is worried England stars like Rice are being forgotten in the demands for more games, more money and bigger TV deals.

However, Molango says no-one will remember that Rice is facing a 70 game season for club and country on the back of Arsenal’s push for glory and the World Cup. Rice, 27, has already clocked up 4,246 minutes in all competitions this season, the 10th highest Premier League player and second highest Englishman after Villa’s Rogers.

Instead the PFA wants a cap on the number of games, a fixed summer break and strict rules on back to-back seasons. Molango said: “Who will have sympathy for Declan Rice? Everyone forgets the 68 games. If he’s lucky then he could get to 68 games even before the World Cup. Who remembers that? No-one. They will be busy saying: We need to win the World Cup.

“We need to put the game back into the centre of the industry. This is like Apple having a board meeting and talking about everything about the next iPhone. There’s no point in talking about the shop or the sales person but it’s pointless if the next iPhone is bad.

“When we go to meetings in football, it’s the same. We talk about everything but the players. We talk about everything apart from what happens on the pitch. We need to get football back at the centre of the game.

“The data says a maximum of 50 to 60 games a year. It’s a maximum of 45 back-to-back. A minimum of one month’s rest each summer. But they say, ‘Sorry, but the calendar is locked until 2030.’ But when it comes to adding games, it’s no problem. But when it comes to reducing games, it’s locked.

“It doesn’t work like this. They want it all. The people in the stadium. The broadcast and TV rights. The authorities are massively underestimating the way players have evolved over the years.”

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