“It hasn’t been easy” – Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva hit out at ‘absolutely absurd’ football calendar | OneFootball

Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva have both hit out at the ‘absolutely absurd’ and growing football calendar whilst away on international duty.

The Premier League champions are embarking on yet another mammoth season with their expected duties only set to increase during this campaign through the expanded competitions throughout the continent and even further afield.

This season will see Manchester City take on a new challenge in the UEFA Champions League, with the competition’s group stage replaced by a brand new league phase featuring four games both home and away against different opposition, placing teams in a 36-team open division.

The FIFA Club World Cup will also return next summer following the course of the regular 2024/25 season, with the globe’s best sides heading to the United States for a 32-team tournament expanded from a small showpiece event last hosted by Saudi Arabia.

Speaking during a recent press conference whilst on international duty with Portugal, Bernardo Silva has hit out at the ‘absolutely absurd’ football calendar, whilst making a reference towards Manchester City’s newly-finalised Carabao Cup third round clash.

“The schedule is completely crazy. We’ve just received the news that we only have one day off for the English League Cup game,” said Bernardo Silva, with Manchester City taking on Watford after just one day rest following a Premier League meeting with Arsenal this month.

“We’ll probably play every three days for months. It’s been absolutely absurd. In the Champions League, if you don’t qualify for the round of 16 you still have to play two more games.”

Silva continued, “It’s true that the squads are bigger, but I’m not going to say that it’s easy. It hasn’t been easy. I spend very little time with my family and friends. The amount of games we’re subjected to is absolutely absurd.”

Bernardo Silva’s Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bruyne has taken on a similar stance towards the growing football calendar, with the Belgian international pointing the blame towards football’s biggest governing bodies and their intent to create more contest.

“The problem is that UEFA and FIFA are making extra matches,” De Bruyne said. “I think the problem will come when we finish the Club World Cup.”

He continued, “We know there will only be three weeks between the Club World Cup final and the first day of the Premier League. You have three weeks to take a vacation, and prepare to play another 80 games.

“We can try to say something, no solution has been found. They don’t care. It’s money that talks.”

Kevin De Bruyne has personally felt the strains of a regular football season, after seeing his 2022/23 campaign culminate in a hamstring injury in the UEFA Champions League final, before an aggravated version of the issue was sustained months later leading to surgery.

Thankfully for De Bruyne and Manchester City, the 33-year-old has fully-recovered from the problem and feels refreshed and back to his best, in what could be his final year at the Etihad Stadium barring a contract renewal with the club amid interest from Saudi Arabia and MLS.