'I feel like I'm suffocating' - FIFA, UEFA and the game's big broadcasters have pushed players to breaking point

Thibaut Courtois called it a couple of years ago after Belgium were beaten by Italy in a third-place play-off in the UEFA Nations League - a game that his compatriots Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku were forced to skip because of muscle fatigue.

"This game is just a money game and we have to be honest about it," the visibly fed-up goalkeeper told reporters. "We just play it because it's extra money for UEFA. Look at how much both teams changed [line-ups]. If both teams would have been in the final, there would have been other players playing.

"Next year we have a World Cup in November, we have to play maybe until the latter stages of June again. Three weeks of holiday is not enough for players to be able to continue for 12 months at the highest level. We will get injured."

Sadly, he couldn't have been more correct: less than a year after competing in Qatar, he left Real Madrid training in tears after tearing his ACL.

The ludicrous decision to place the World Cup in the middle of the European season took a serious toll on the game's top players. As Howden's 2022-23 Men's European Football Injury Index revealed last week, players from the continent's 'Big Five' leagues who participated in the World Cup in Qatar took, on average, eight days longer to recover from injuries after the tournament compared to before - and that was primarily because of a massive increase in severe injuries, to the ankle (170 percent), calf/shin (200%) and hamstring (130%).

Not that FIFPRO, the organisation that represents professional players, was in the least bit surprised. They had pointed out before the World Cup had even kicked-off that teams had been given an average of 31 days of preparation time before the previous seven tournaments, and 37 days of recovery time after. However, players were given, on average, just seven days to get themselves physically and mentally ready for Qatar 2022, and only eight days to recuperate before resuming their club campaigns.

FIFPRO subsequently revealed that 44% of the players who participated in the World Cup experienced more physical fatigue, while 23% felt more mental fatigue in January compared to other seasons. France defender Raphael Varane even decided to walk away from international football in February, while still only 29 years of age. "We have overloaded schedules and play non-stop," he said. "Right now, I feel like I'm suffocating."

Hardly surprising, then, that Varane was disgusted by the Premier League's decision to implement the strict time-keeping strategy deployed at the World Cup that saw the average amount of injury time increase from 7.3 minutes to 11.6 minutes.

"From the managers and players, we have shared our concerns for many years now that there are too many games, the schedule is overcrowded, and it's at a dangerous level for players' physical and mental well-being," Varane wrote on social media.

"Despite our previous feedback, they have now recommended for next season: longer games, more intensity, and less emotions to be shown by players. We just want to be in good condition on the pitch to give 100 percent to our club and fans. Why are our opinions not being heard?"

UEFA insists it is listening. As well as formally recognising football fans as central stakeholders in the game in January of this year, Europe's governing body also decided against adapting the World Cup approach to stoppages.

UEFA's chief of football, the former Croatia international Zvonomir Boban, told reporters in Monaco in August: "I can speak from my experience, especially as a midfielder - when you get tired, it's the last 30 minutes of the game. And now somebody comes and adds another 15 minutes! "How often have we spoken critically about the calendar and too many games? We are not listening to players and coaches... It's crazy. It's too much, so we will not do this. Our guidelines are different."

England's Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) chief Maheta Molango said that Boban's comments showed that when it comes to protecting players, the former AC Milan ace just "gets it".

However, it's worth pointing out that the organisation that Boban represents has already decided to expand the Champions League, its flagship event and biggest money-maker. From next season on, there will be four additional teams (up from 32 to 36), two additional matchdays in the group stage and an additional play-off round before the last 16 - all of which means an increase of 64 games (from 125 to 189).

The irony of the increase is not lost on anyone, least of all the players. "[UEFA] were against Super League, but they're just doing the same - putting on extra games," Courtois pointed out. "It is always the same. They can be angry about other teams wanting a Super League, but they don’t care about the players; they just care about their pockets."

Which is why UEFA also decided to completely ruin the European Championship by increasing the number of participants from 16 teams to 24, which has resulted in a dilution in quality and, even more embarrassingly, third-placed teams progressing to the knockout stage.

FIFA are obviously no different in that regard, having decided to enlarge the Club World Cup in 2025 without any consultation with FIFPRO. Thankfully, Arsene Wenger's plan for a biennial World Cup have been shelved (for now, at least), but we will have a ludicrous 48-team tournament in 2026 - making the competition so big that it can no longer be hosted by a single nation, unless that nation is Saudi Arabia...

Even FIFA president Gianni Infantino has admitted that they'll have to come up with a way of generating some sort of excitement in the group stages, given the original plan for three-team groups would have meant an increase in dead rubbers - and nothing like the first-round drama we saw in the 32-team tournament in Qatar.

It's clear, then, that the governing bodies only consider the economic benefits when making these massive format changes - and care absolutely nothing for the sporting consequences. It won't be long before we have another 'winter' World Cup - or a Super League masquerading as a Champions League - because they really don't feel football. They just want to exploit the game - and its players.

But they've reached breaking point. Top young talents are being asked to play more minutes than ever before, so is it any wonder that Gavi has just buckled under the burden? Or that Vinicius Junior is sidelined again? Or that a study this week warned that Jude Bellingham could burn out inside three years?

Courtois predicted all this, of course. "Three weeks of holiday is not enough for players to be able to continue for 12 months at the highest level," he warned just over two years ago. "In the end, top players will get injured and injured and injured." While those that hold all the power just get richer and richer and richer.