Aston Villa ace John McGinn agrees with Liverpool star and reveals football’s mental health risk

Aston Villa stars John McGinn and Youri Tielemans have added their voices to those of Man City ace Rodri and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson over concerns of fixture congestion and burnout

John McGinn says players’ mental health is at risk over the congested fixture list – claiming the situation is ‘getting out of hand.’

Aston Villa’s skipper has added his voice to the growing clamour for action over burnout as a succession of stars continued to break ranks. Liverpool keeper Alisson and Manchester City ’s Rodri flagged their concerns this week.

The Kop idol suggested that players aren’t listened to, while Pep Guardiola ’s midfielder claimed they were close to taking strike action.‌ And McGinn said that the continued pressure being applied by the non-stop run of games is jeopardising both his and his colleagues’ mental well-being.

McGinn said: “It’s a very important topic and subject – I’ve experienced both sides of the coin. When we were mid-table, we weren’t playing many games and not playing for much at the end of the season. We were desperate to play games, desperate to be involved and be successful.

“So, initially, when we first got into European competition, it was like ‘keep the games, coming, just keep ‘em coming.’ But it is hard to churn them out when you are playing 70-plus games a season – and then you’re playing internationals.

“I think that there is a part of it that’s getting a little out of hand, especially with the Club World Cup next season. We are fortunate to be well-paid for doing a job we absolutely love.‌

“No one is getting away from that but at times you need to switch off from the mental side of things. There’s not a lot of time to rest, so they need to get the balance a bit better and there’s a lot of people pushing for that.

“We’re supporting that. We want to be successful and we love playing football but the balance has to be right.”

Asked what might change, McGinn pointed to the Club World Cup as being a specific issue.

He added: “It’s more so the mental side. Football at this level brings amazing highs and tremendous lows.

“At the end of the season you just want to go: ‘Hands up, I’m done.’ But now the teams in that Club World Cup, they’re not going to have any time to do that.‌

“People’s health is the most important thing and hopefully we can come to some sort of happy balance.”‌

McGinn’s team-mate, Youri Tielemans said that the fixture list was ‘very busy’ saying that the number of matches ‘takes its toll’ physically.‌ The Belgian international said: “We all know the schedule is going to be very busy.

“There are at least two more games in the new Champions League format so we are going to have to manage our recovery times and hopefully pick up as few injuries as possible. But they are going to happen anyway, they are part of the game but yes, the schedule is very busy.

“Football is a demanding sport. The amount of games, there are more competitions, it’s getting tougher every year. It takes its toll on the body. We have to make the most of our recovery times.

“We love to do it but it’s hard and we need to take care of our bodies.”

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