TOP FOOTBALLERS ARE 'TREATED LIKE CATTLE'

Former players call for review of workload, as academician warns of long-term impact

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A week after Rodri warned of strike action over increasing workload, the Manchester City midfielder is facing a long injury layoff - a cruel twist of fate that has further fuelled the debate around player well-being amid an intense schedule.

Managers and former players such as Pep Guardiola, Erik ten Hag, Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher also recently joined the growing chorus calling for change.

Former Arsenal forward Henry said players have lost their joy of the game, while Liverpool's former defender Carragher said they are treated like cattle.

The power of players to do anything about it is being eroded, said Mark O'Sullivan, associate professor of football at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences.

"The whole game is subverted and it's just been aimed at consumers by Fifa and Uefa, squeezing the last few drops out of the globalised lemon, and they're degrading the welfare of players," Prof O'Sullivan told Reuters in an interview.