PREMIER LEAGUE stars are threatening to sue over the “impossible” number of matches they are being forced to play.
Top players face an unprecedented 86 GAMES from next season with a bigger Champions League and Fifa’s new 32-team summer club competition.
GettyTop Premier League stars could play a whopping 86 matches next term[/caption]
The PFA fear their members’ welfare will suffer — with Fifa yet to grant demands for a mandatory 28-day off-season break.
Maheta Molango, chief executive of the players’ union, blasted: “We’ve reached a stage where people are ready to take legal action to resolve it.
“This is a defeat for football when players need to take justice in their own hands because they don’t feel protected.
“It’s a sad state of affairs.
“We want to see the best players performing at the best level.
“With the current calendar, it is physically, humanly impossible.”
Fears are magnified by Fifa’s new 32-team Club World Cup — including at least Manchester City and Chelsea from England — in 2025 when most Prem stars would be on holiday.
The following season ends with the international World Cup featuring 48 nations for the first time.
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Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has written to Fifa to protest about the club version.
Asked if football’s rulers risk killing the beautiful game, Molango told Sky News: “They are. But players are ready now to take a strong stance.
“It’s impossible because the human body only allows you to do so much.”
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