Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has claimed that UEFA and FIFA are 'killing' his players with their scheduling of matches.
In a season that is being played in a condensed period due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, City are still active in four competitions and face an extremely busy conclusion to the campaign.
Guardiola has frequently rotated his side, but some players have featured prominently, with Rodri, for instance, having already made 42 appearances this season.
Speaking after his side's 2-0 Premier League success against Leicester on Saturday, Guardiola expressed his frustration, with his team having to now switch their attention to Tuesday's Champions League clash at home to Borussia Dortmund.
As reported by The Mirror, Guardiola said: 'UEFA and FIFA kill the players and it is too much.
'We haven't had one midweek off since we started. They are human beings, not machines.
'The reason I rotate every game with six or seven players is because everybody is fit and because we have an incredible squad and I won't let them play as much as possible.'
In last season's Champions League quarter-final defeat to Lyon Guardiola named a rather unusual lineup as he left some of his key creative players, such as Bernardo Silva and David Silva, on the bench.
Guardiola indicated that he is prepared to make further changes for the game against Dortmund.
Guardiola's rotation policy has meant that Raheem Sterling has been named on the bench on several occasions in the Premier League recently.
The City manager stressed that it would be impossible for his team to still be in contention to win the quadruple if he didn't constantly change his lineup.
He said: 'Some of them want to play every day, but it is impossible to compete in all competitions.
'In this year, without spectators, with the shortest competition ever... we started later and will finish earlier.
'So if you don't rotate you cannot win all the competitions. You cannot be here in the position we are now.'
City have clashed with UEFA in the past and last year had a two-year ban from the Champions League for breaching fair play rules overturned. City were fined £9m.
One positive for City is that their former player Jadon Sancho is set to miss the first leg of the quarter-final tie. Sancho has been out since the start of March with a muscle injury.
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