Pep Guardiola admits clubs might have to go on strike to make football bosses take notice of player welfare.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson claimed this week that not enough is being done to protect the health and wellbeing of top flight stars when it comes to Covid protocols and the fixture pileup.
Manchester City boss Guardiola agrees with Henderson and suggested direct action from clubs might be the only solution to make the Premier League and FA sit up and take notice.
Guardiola admits actions speak louder than words and he said: “It should be the players and managers all together making a strike. With words alone it’s not going to be solved.
“The Premier League, the business, is more important than the welfare. Five substitutes – now we have to discuss about that, what they decide will be okay about that.
“Do you know how many times we discuss it? A lot.”The welfare of the players should be the most important thing, but when we talk about the welfare of the players, it’s the only country that has just three subs, not five.
“You have to decide for the broadcasters or the Premier League, but for the welfare of the players, it’s not going to happen.”Guardiola doesn’t believe the situation will come to seeing clubs go on strike and said: “No, I don’t think so, because we want to play. We love to do that.
“It’s not reason to make a strike, but the people say World Cups and European Cups and Carabao Cup semi-finals two legs and more games and more games and another one, and then we played the first two games of the Premier League without players.
“Against Tottenham I had 10 players. It’s not fair. We played against Tottenham with a lack of preparation and we lost. We could lose anyway, because Tottenham away, we can lose.”
City host Leicester on Boxing Day but Guardiola knows there is a good chance the clash will be postponed as Covid cases continue to rise again.
