Erling Haaland's 'machine-like' form for Man City proves players need proper rest, says PFA chief

According to ESPN, a FIFPRO report found that top-level players are under increasing "mental stress" due to the number of games they play. The study found that elite footbalers have as little as 12 per cent of the calendar year off (less than one day a week). Now, Maheta Molango, the CEO of England's Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), says Haaland's rapid start to the season - of seven goals in four games for Manchester City - shows why players need more rest.

Molango told ESPN: "I found it astonishing the difference there was in terms of the feedback from the people who had a proper holiday and those who did not have a proper holiday. And the body language and the words they choose in talking to us was such a big difference. For us in England, we have a very clear example in Erling Haaland. It was very nice to go to a dressing room and hear someone [Haaland] say to you: 'I was missing being back, I was missing being able to train again and I'm pumped up, I'm motivated, I'm here.

"That was in preseason and now you see the results. I mean he's being back to the machine that we saw when he first joined us in England and I think it's probably something very similar to Mohamed Salah - he also had the proper rest and you can see that he is again the best version of Mo. It was very telling for myself to see what the feedback was from the people with the proper rest, how they were looking forward to be back and how they're performing right now from the feedback of the people who have not had the rest and you can see how they look shattered. They looked tired even before they started the season, which for us is very worrying."

FIFAPRO and players' unions in Europe launched a legal case against FIFA in June, accusing the governing body of an "abuse of dominance" in the game. This comes at a time where they have launched an expanded Club World Cup and UEFA have increased the size of their European competitions too. While players are very well remunerated for their efforts, player welfare seems to be becoming a bigger issue.

Despite the importance of getting rest, Haaland is likely to represent Norway in their Nations League matches against Kazakhstan and Austria on Friday and Monday respectively; followed by Manchester City's clash against Brentford on September 14.