Manchester City midfielder Rodri has expressed his intention to take a break during the final stretch of the season as the club pursues a second consecutive Treble.
The 27-year-old recently marked his 41st appearance of the campaign during Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg draw against Real Madrid.
This match was part of a grueling schedule comprising eight games across three competitions throughout April.
“I do need a rest,” said the Spain international.
“Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is.
“I need to adjust. It [rest] is something we are planning, yes.”
The exhilarating 3-3 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu marked 429 days and 66 games since Rodri last experienced defeat while playing for City in any competition.
Throughout this season, the former Atletico Madrid midfielder has accumulated 3,497 minutes on the field, placing him 23rd among players from Europe’s top leagues in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France in terms of playing time. However, only three players have made more starts, and two of them are goalkeepers.
Rodri has been absent for four domestic matches due to suspension this season, coinciding with City’s losses in all four of those games.
Upcoming fixtures for Pep Guardiola’s side include a Premier League encounter against Luton on Saturday, followed by the return leg against Real Madrid on April 17. Additionally, they have an FA Cup semi-final clash against Chelsea and Premier League away matches against Brighton and Nottingham Forest before the month concludes.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag recently remarked that players are struggling to maintain consistent performance levels due to being “overloaded.” He cited City’s contrasting displays in their goalless draw against Arsenal compared to their 3-1 victory over Manchester United in March as an example.
Ten Hag said: “You see the levels dropping with them [Manchester City] again, it was a different team to when we faced them. The levels with teams will drop at any moment if we keep going in this process by overloading the international programme.”
Global players’ union Fifpro has said football needs to do more to protect against “dangerous levels of fixture congestion”.
Meanwhile, world governing body Fifa is expanding its Club World Cup competition, and Uefa is increasing the size of Europe’s Champions League from next season.