Pep Guardiola has warned football authorities they would be wrong to dismiss potential strike talk from his Manchester City talisman Rodri and other top stars.
Rodri’s claim that players are closer than ever to going on strike because of ever-increasing fixture congestion has been dismissed as scaremongering.
But Guardiola – a long-term advocate for footballers’ welfare – senses the mood is serious.
‘I am pretty sure that if something is going to change, it must come from the players and there are many voices talking,’ he said.
‘They are the only ones who can change the organisation (of fixtures) by taking a voice and doing something.