CALLUM McGregor has dismissed fears his punishing schedule with Celtic and Scotland could lead to him suffering from burnout and admitted seeing football icons like Cristiano Ronaldo play into their late thirties gives him confidence he can continue to perform at the highest level for years to come.
McGregor was one of 13 players who have been involved in more than 55 games for club and country every season in the last three years to be named in a FIFPro report into match congestion and travel burden last week.
FIFPro, who represent 65,000 professional footballers around the world, want to see every one of their members getting a set four week break from the game during the summer and the frequency of back-to-back fixtures reduced.
The Parkhead captain, who led the Glasgow club to a Premier Sports Cup and cinch Premiership double this season, made 69 appearances, more than any other professional on the planet, during the 2018/19 campaign.
However, the 28-year-old, who is preparing to play for Scotland against Ukraine in the Qatar 2022 play-off semi-final at Hampden on Wednesday night, stressed that he relishes being involved in so many big matches and has no concerns about the physical and mental toll it will take on him in the long-term.
“I thought my numbers would be high,” he said. “But it just shows that you’re doing something right. You’re playing a lot of football and getting to play on big stages and big tournaments. That’s what you want you as a footballer, you want to be tested at the highest level.
“It’s good for me. I’ve developed and learned a lot over the last five or six years especially. I still feel good so I just want to keep playing. You don’t feel tired when you’re winning. It makes you feel good. I’m a big believer that when you’re fit and you’re healthy, you just want to keep playing as much as you possibly can.
“I mean, some day someone will take it away from you and you’ll wish you had another game. Obviously, there are times when you are tired and you get a bit fatigued. But you just push through that and you come again with the mental strength. I’m happy to play as many games as I need to and like I say I love football. For me it’s not a chore, it’s something I love to do.”
Asked if he was worried about suffering from burnout later in his career, McGregor said: “I don’t think so. It might happen eventually. But I’m quite strong mentally. If I’m here and I’m doing well and you’re asked to play, then you just get on with it.
“I’m pretty old school in that sense too, sometimes it just becomes mind over matter. You just go and you make yourself feel good anyway. As long as I’m picked to play, and I’m fit and healthy, then absolutely I want to play.”
Ronaldo played 45 games for Juventus, Manchester United and Portugal during the 2021/22 campaign despite being 37 and McGregor feels the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s success shows that he can continue to produce good performances for club and country for years to come if he follows expert advice.
“These guys are the phenomenons of the sport,” he said. “You’re always looking at them and how can you try and maximise your ability and do what you can within the game and the sport.
“Now, sports science is so vital to the players, everybody leans on it in some way or another. Some people like to go right in depth, others will skim on the outside of it. All this science is available to you to live your life properly and rest up when you need to. You do the right things and hopefully that will give you that longevity in your career.”
McGregor was certainly looking tanned and relaxed when he spoke to the media at the Scotland training base at Oriam outside Edinburgh yesterday after enjoying a short break to Dubai following the end of the domestic season this month.
He is looking forward to the match against Ukraine at Hampden on Wednesday night and is confident that Scotland can triumph and go through to the play-off final against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday if they play at their best.
If the national team reach their first World Cup since France ’98 some 24 years ago the Celtic midfielder, who scored for his country at the Euro 2020 finals last summer, will savour being involved in the finals in Qatar in November.
“It doesn’t really matter when there’s a World Cup,” he said. “If your country gets there and you are picked to play then you go no matter how tired you are.
“It’s in the middle of the season and the leagues around Europe will stop. But it doesn’t really bother players, where it is or when it is. You get a chance to play at a World Cup then you snap your hand off it for it.
“It (scoring against Croatia at Euro 2020) was a brilliant moment personally for me, but bitter-sweet as we never got through the group. It was still a good moment in my career.
“To see the build-up and the feeling around the country going into that tournament, that’s what we want to have. We want all eyes on us going into the tournament, the hype around it, the magnitude of the games, the players you’ll come up against.”
