Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola have been told to stop complaining by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
The Slovenian chief has fired back at the pair of Premier League coaches, who have often voiced their concerns regarding player welfare amid fixture congestion within the football calendar. But Ceferin has attempted to silence the duo by declaring that "factory workers" in much less privileged positions are the ones with license to moan.
UEFA's head honcho argued: "It's easy always to attack FIFA and UEFA, but the thing is simple. If you play less, you get less money. Who should complain are the factory workers who get €1,000 per month." He added: “Everyone wants more cup games, but nobody gives up on anything. Clubs wanted 10 games in the Champions League group stage. They’ll have eight, it’s the right number. Domestic leagues should have 18 clubs, but the presidents do not agree. They should understand that two domestic cups are too many.”
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Ceferin also discussed the Champions League's format change in 2024, defending UEFA's decision to change the group stage and calling the current competition 'too predictable'. He said: “Today, you can already predict who will play in the Round of 16 after the draw. In the future, big clubs will meet more frequently, smaller clubs will have more chances to qualify and the group will be fought until the end. It will be spectacular."
Klopp and Guardiola have been critical on how the Premier League, FA, UEFA and FIFA have scheduled tournaments at both club and international level, increasing the amount of high-intensity games. Following Liverpool's FA Cup final victory over Chelsea in May, Klopp embarked on a lengthy rant and directly referenced UEFA.
"The reason I am not in such a good mood when I speak about UEFA is because of the Nations League," the German explained. "I still think it is one of the most ridiculous ideas in the world of football because now we finish a season where [some] players have played more than 70 games.
"Easily - club games 63 or 64, plus internationals - and then go direct to 75, which is pretty mad and we continue with Nations League games because we have to play them [when] there is no tournament, who cares we play four, five or six games with the national teams."
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Klopp was particularly unhappy that the Reds were forced to play a league game at Southampton three days after the final, which went to extra-time and penalties. "It's tough but it's better you moan and argue when you have won something than when you lose," he continued. "I will sit here and say it and people will say, 'Stop whining!' No-one else is doing it, you don't think about it for a second. 'It's tough, huh? Maybe it would be better if you play on Thursday.' 120 minutes and then Tuesday, come on. It's massive."
Guardiola has regularly echoed his colleague's forthright views, even going far as to suggest that a strike could solve the issue. "The problem is the fixtures," he stated last December as the hectic festive period approached. "The calendar, 365 days a year with international duties for the national team, huge competitions with a lot of games. The players have two or three weeks of holiday in the summer and it’s the season again. This is too much.
"Should the players and the managers be all together together and make a strike, or something, because just through words it's not going to be solved? For FIFA, the Premier League, the broadcasters… the business is more important than the welfare."
