Saturday 10 December 2016 00:09, UK
Pep Guardiola has warned football is going to "kill" players by demanding too much of them.
The Manchester City boss was speaking a day after FIFA president Gianni Infantino's reported plan to expand the World Cup finals to 48 teams from 2026 had been met with enthusiasm.
Guardiola is not in favour of Infantino's proposal and the Spaniard has also called for teams to be allowed to make more substitutions in order to give players more rest time.
He said: "It's not just English football, it's all around the world. Now they talk about a World Cup of 48 teams - we are going to kill the players.
"FIFA will decide and we accept the decision and if we are not happy we go home. They are focusing on more and more and more - it affects the quality. I am thinking just for the players. They need to breathe, to [have a] break, to enjoy.
"This kind of thing is impossible because we are going to finish [the season] then after one week the World Cup, then after three weeks we go to the pre-season, we go to China, the States, Australia.
"You play against Milan, Juventus, Madrid and you have to win, people demand you have to play good. No preparation then you come back and it's 11 months again and it's the European Cup."
Guardiola is in favour of increasing the number of substitutes that can be used during games to give players more opportunities to rest.
"You do this for 10 or 12 years and we don't think about the players. For that reason there has to be huge squads, more money for the clubs to spend," he added.
"It's just three substitutions now, why you cannot make four, five or six? All the players are involved more than before, the coaches can use different tactics. Less injuries, more open games. Everything would be better. But okay, FIFA have another opinion."
