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Sergio Busquets Spain 2021Getty

'Players will explode' - Busquets warns against burnout amid proposal to hold World Cup every two years

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Sergio Busquets has warned against adding more competitions to an already-crowded calendar, saying there will come a point when players will "explode."

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has suggested he is in favour of a proposal to hold the World Cup every two years, an idea that's also been backed by ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is currently FIFA's chief of global football development.

But Barcelona and Spain midfielder Busquets has said there are only so many competitions that players will be able to physically withstand.

What was said?

"On the World Cup every two years, [the players] have little say on that [decision]," Busquets said at a press conference.

"We just see the calendar has become busier and busier, and they do not care about the players.

"They want more Euros, more World Cups, more club World Cups, more league games, more games for every competition. 

"There will be a moment when the players will explode because the games are becoming more and more demanding and we have less time to rest.

"So it is so difficult to handle as we have seen recently with this pandemic, where some different competitions have clashed.

"All of this will bring some consequences, so it would be necessary to have a meeting and listen to all the parties."

Will a biennial World Cup happen?

In May, FIFA's members approved the launch of a feasibility study looking into staging the World Cup every two years after the proposal was submitted by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

Infantino suggested he is in favour of the change after the FIFA congress in May, saying at a press conference: "You don’t need to be an Einstein to know that if you have the World Cup every two years you double the revenue.

"We have to go into these studies with an open mind. We know about the value of the World Cup and the impact of the World Cup."

This week, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said he has "grave concerns" about the proposal.

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