Manchester City chief issues warning over ‘killing our players’ through football calendar congestion

Ferran Soriano – Chief Executive Officer of the City Football Group – has issued a warning over the increasingly congested football calendar.

Manchester City are often at the centre of congested fixture plans, as Pep Guardiola and his players continue to strive to compete on all fronts across the course of a season, both domestically and internationally.

The 2023/24 season saw Manchester City compete in three different European and international competitions, as they came out on top in both the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, falling at the quarter-final stage in the UEFA Champions League.

However, the upcoming 2024/25 campaign brings about a fresh challenge for all teams, and even more so for Manchester City, as they compete in an expanded and revamped UEFA Champions League, as well as an increased 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in the USA.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Globe Soccer Forum in Sardinia, Manchester City and the City Football Group’s Ferran Soriano has issued a stern warning over the way in which football is creating more demands of their players through the fixture calendar.

“Like everything in life, it’s priorities. We have to decide what’s most important, starting with the health of the players,” Soriano stated. “We have got into a spiral where everyone is defending each business and we can’t go on like this.”

He continued, “We need to care about the players first but also and I say this because this is important, then the fans. What do the fans want to see? They are the engine of this business.

“Do they want to see an improved Champions League or the Club World Cup or a Nations League? We need a system that serves our fans without killing our players and we are far from that now.”

The 2024/25 season currently represents Manchester City’s final season working under Pep Guardiola, with the Catalan’s contract expiring next summer and there currently being a concern within the club that he is insistent on bringing his time in Manchester to a close.

City will likely have already begun their process of sounding out potential new candidates to succeed Pep Guardiola, with Xabi Alonso and Girona’s Michel among those to have impressed some within the club’s hierarchy.