Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger criticised the “negativity” around player welfare in footballer as he highlighted Lionel Messi's longevity.
Wenger is the head of global football development at football’s world governing body, FIFA, and has performed a stark U-turn on the issue since his time as Gunners boss, when he was a vocal critic of the international football calendar. He claimed there was a “lot of politics” in international games that were designed “to help some federations to raise money”.
Player welfare has been a steady theme in football in recent years, with an increasingly congested calendar of club and international football which was stretched further by the Covid pandemic and staging of a World Cup in the middle of the club season for the first time. FIFA has also announced the creation of a controversial new Club World Cup tournament.
Despite his previous reservations over the volume of international matches, Wenger has notably changed his stance – pointing to the successes of veteran players Messi, Olivier Giroud and Luka Modric at this World Cup to highlight how footballers can handle more matches over their careers than ever.
Speaking at a technical study group briefing in Doha ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final, Wenger said: “I played in 2006 a Champions League final against Barcelona. Messi was starting to play in the team. That’s 2006. We are in 2022.
“That’s 16 years later and he is still in the contest for being the player of the tournament. So, overall, we are all grateful for the pleasure he has given us in these 16 years... this tournament shows the evolution of modern sport.
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“Jurgen [Klinsmann] spoke about [Jamal] Musiala, this tournament is about the young players who are ready earlier and earlier in top-level sport.
“But it as well the tournament of players who last longer and longer than ever before. We have not experienced tournaments, World Cups, with 35-year-old players being dominant - but you have Giroud, Messi and Modric, who is 37 years old.
“The dominant players at this tournament shows - despite all the negativity about health of players and welfare of players - the life of a top-level sportsman last longer. They are ready earlier and they finish later.”
However, speaking back in 2012, Wenger was critical of a bloated international football schedule that he believed was designed to raise funding for federations. He said: "There are a lot of politics behind these games because when you see some teams travelling during that period, you think it is more to pay back some corporation rather than preparing a team for the next official game.
"The friendlies in November, how can they prepare you for a game in February? I believe the friendly games are there as well to help some federations to raise money."
Wenger added: "The problem is not to have too much conflict with the interests of the club. For example, when we play this Saturday at 12.45pm against Tottenham and Santi Cazorla plays for Spain in Panama on Wednesday, you cannot say there is no conflict of interest.
"What is difficult to understand is why these games are not like the official games and on a Tuesday."
