Thoughts on Rodri's Comments

“In my humble opinion, I think it is too much. We have to take care of ourselves. Someone has to take care of ourselves because we are the main characters of, let's say, this sport or this business. Not everything is money or marketing. It is also the quality of the show. In my opinion, when I rest, when I'm not tired, I perform better. If people want to see better football, we need to rest.” - Rodri (https://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2024-09-17/man-citys-rodri-says-top-soccer-players-close-to-going-on-strike-because-there-are-too-many-games)

I'll be honest - and this might be an unpopular opinion - but I don't have a lot of sympathy for the players here. In 2024 - according to my quick google research - Rodri was paid more than $15M for his work. My salary as a government employee right now is $140,000 a year. I'd have to work for more than 100 years at that salary to hit $15M. And he plays a game! For fans! Who pay increasingly more for tickets so that he can be compensated at that level. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve the money he gets, but I'm saying he shouldn't be complaining about how much he has to play. Is it a lot? Yeah. As Harrison Ford once said in an interview: "That's what the money is for!" 

Sports, at its core, is an entertainment industry. Without the fans, it ceases to exist. These tournaments are for the fans so they can see these elite teams take the field. Why would you deny them that? Your career ends at 30? You've probably made $50M by then! And you have your whole life ahead of you. I just don't like this idea that the athletes are "so burdened by their work schedule" that it's not fair to them. I never had the opportunity to play at that level. You can't tell me there aren't thousands upon thousands of people who would happily take his place if given the chance. I know it's not all sunshine and daisies, but if you're going to complain, don't complain about having to play an extra game or ten.