How Messi, Bellingham and Kane were turned into ‘zombies’?

Football fans have just witnessed how exhausted Lionel Messi, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane are at Copa America or EURO because they have to play continuously and compete while injured…

Messi, Bellingham exhausted, tired at EURO, Copa America

These are three specific, typical cases showing that the brutal schedule of modern football is draining the biggest stars, turning them into zombies wandering around in major tournaments like EURO and Copa America. Almost none of the stars who played the most in the 2023/24 season shone in continental competitions this past summer.

Kane’s departure after an ineffective hour in the EURO 2024 final was not the way fans expected. In fact, he should not have played in the tournament in Germany. After all, Kane missed the end of the Bundesliga season with Bayern Munich with a back injury that coach Thomas Tuchel described as “a complete blockage in the back and it is bothering Harry in his daily life”. The injury was so serious that it made him doubtful about his ability to play in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in May 2024.

And Kane is not the only case of “disappearance” at EURO 2024. Up to now, Bellingham is still suffering from the after-effects of a dislocated shoulder injury in November 2023 that he should have had surgery at the right time. The English midfielder had to wear a special strap on his shoulder to be able to play normally. Therefore, Bellingham was unable to shine at EURO 2024.

Bellingham too tired after EURO 2024 final

Goalkeeper Unai Simon had to undergo wrist surgery immediately after EURO 2024 ended. He had previously won the European Championship with La Roja by using painkillers to play. Kylian Mbappe also had to wear a mask while playing because of a broken nose at EURO 2024. That greatly affected his performance in Germany.

Looking at Copa America, we also see many similar images. The photo of Messi crying with his face covered because of a serious ankle injury will haunt fans for a long time, if Argentina does not win this tournament. Before that, Leo had to be treated and injected with painkillers to play after suffering a groin injury in the second match of the group stage against Chile.

Luis Suarez will also miss the next few games with Inter Miami due to knee pain related to a chronic problem he has suffered for the past few years. His condition was aggravated when he had to undergo painkilling injections to play until the end of the third-place match in the Copa America with Uruguay.

 

Spain’s Euro 2024 hero Oyarzabal also complained about the match schedule.

It’s clear that many big stars are exhausted in the tournaments where they are expected to shine. “It’s tough with the crazy schedule and then you have to exhaust yourself for a major tournament. It’s physically and mentally draining,” Bellingham said after England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in the EURO 2024 final.

Bellingham, 21, has played 54 games for Real Madrid and England in an 11-month season (from mid-August 2023 to mid-July 2024). Even though coach Carlo Ancelotti tried to give Bellingham a rest, he still showed signs of exhaustion at EURO 2024.

However, Bellingham’s workload is still nothing compared to Bruno Fernandes, who has played 5,399 minutes in 62 matches for MU and the Portuguese national team; with William Saliba (Arsenal, French national team), Ilkay Gundogan (Barca, German national team) – both have played 63 matches each, with more than 5,000 minutes of playing time.

Julian Alvarez may not have played the same number of minutes (‘just’ 3,480 for Man City), but his schedule is brutal. Alvarez’s season starts on 6/8/2-23 (if you count the Community Shield), and he plays for the Citizens until May 2024, with the longest break between games being 13 days.

Alvarez’s season lasted more than a year

Fifteen days after the FA Cup final, Alvarez was called up to the Argentina squad for the 2024 Copa America. He played two friendlies before starting almost every match in the tournament. After a lavish 10-day holiday, Alvarez started Argentina’s opening match at the 2024 Olympics – a scandalously prolonged match against Morocco.

If Argentina U23 reach the final, which is August 9, 2024, Alvarez’s season will last exactly 1 year and 3 days, with only a few weeks off between matches. A number that sounds terrifying for a 24-year-old player…

Therefore, it is easy to understand why the organizers of the Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga or Bundesliga have coordinated with FIFPro (the World Federation of Professional Footballers) to sue FIFA to the European Commission. “The dense match schedule is a health hazard for players. FIFA’s decisions in recent years have only prioritized its own tournaments and commercial interests, neglecting its responsibilities as a governing body, harming the economic interests of national championships and the welfare of players,” the representative of FIFPro emphasized the reason for suing FIFA.