Phil Foden: Manchester City midfielder is ‘victim’ of fixture schedule after missing out on England spot
Manchester City Midfielder Phil Foden is a “victim” of football’s busy fixture schedule after he was left out of England’s World Cup squad, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association said.
Foden failed to secure a place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the North American tournament after a disappointing season for City.
The 25-year-old was among the leading players discussed at a meeting of Fifpro, the global body representing professional footballers.
PFA chief Maheta Molango, who also serves on the Fifpro board, said there were reasons behind Foden’s failure to reach the heights of previous seasons.
Foden picked up a number of individual awards at the end of the 2023-24 season, including being named PFA player of the year.
“The number of games he is available for has dropped and when he has been available it has not been the version of Phil Foden we saw two years ago,” Molango says.
“Unfortunately he is one of the victims of this crazy schedule that makes sense for those seeking commercial gain at the expense of the quality of the show and the protection of the players who are supposed to be the legacy of football.
“It’s a shame not to have someone like Phil on the field because we love players who make us dream and have pure talent.”
Fifpro claims players cannot cope with “high-threshold competitive seasons” year after year without eventually suffering injury or performance degradation.
Data collected by the organization shows that Arsenal’s England midfielder Declan Rice and Liverpool’s Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk may be at increased risk of injury or loss of form next season due to their workload.
Van Dijk played in all 38 of Liverpool’s Premier League matches, while Rice played in 36 matches for Arsenal.
Both will take part in the expanded 48-team World Cup, where matches will be played in warm temperatures.
Molango said he feared the World Cup would become “survival of the fittest”.
He added: “There is a possibility that because some of the most talented players at the biggest clubs will reach a point where this becomes too much.
“You can’t enter a competition having already played 60 or close to 60 games.”
