Manchester City face a busy summer with international and club commitments
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Manchester City's Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson speaks with Savinho during the English Premier League football match between City and Brentford
Manchester City pair Ederson and Savinho could face a gruelling summer schedule for club and country
Two Manchester City stars face a gruelling summer schedule that could tally 16,000 miles across four countries with 10 matches.
City will be playing in the newly expanded Club World Cup, which will bring a minimum of three group matches and the possibility of seven in total should Pep Guardiola’s side reach the final. That comes on the back of the regular season and the June international break in which the vast majority of City players will feature.
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And for South American duo Ederson and Savinho, and potentially Claudio Echeverri and Vitor Reis, that will mean a hectic few weeks. The quartet could all feasibly feature in City’s final Premier League game of the season against Fulham on Sunday May 25.
Brazil and Argentina then have games 10 days later with fixtures scheduled on June 4 and 9. Barring injury Ederson and Savinho are certain to be called upon by club and country.
Brazil visit Ecuador before hosting Paraguay as they bid to get their World Cup qualifying big back on track following a thumping by Argentina this month. The City pair would then be key players in the Club World Cup which begins on June 14 and runs until July 13. City's first game is on June 18 against Wydad AC.
If the Blues went all the way in the competition, Ederson and Savinho could play 10 games in seven weeks across three continents.
Travelling from the UK to Ecuador and then across to Brazil would tally around 8,000 miles. It is then a further 4,000 miles to Philadelphia, which is where City begin their Club World Cup bid, and the two remaining group games would entail another 1,200 miles of travel.
The maximum distance City could then travel in reaching the final would be just over 2,500 miles. That would mean a total travel distance of just under 16,000 miles and 10 time zones. It is a huge undertaking even with the advantages on offer to City players.
It also does not take into account any extra fixtures City add to the calendar. For example, Manchester United are playing two games in Asia immediately after the conclusion of the Premier League season. It seems unlikely City would schedule further games given the already congested nature of their summer.
The schedule also potentially increases the risk of injuries, something City have suffered with this season. Guardiola, speaking in November, voiced his concern over the football schedule, and in particular the limited time off in between campaigns. City could in theory finish the 2024-25 season on July 13 and begin again with the Charity Shield on August 9, a break of less than four weeks.
“In the past, the previous seasons, we played a lot of games," he said. "Maybe when we go to the World [Club] Cup, arriving at the last stages of the competition, we’re going to play more than 70 games.
"And 70 games is like the NBA, but the NBA has four-month holidays, and we have three weeks, because it’s not this season, it comes from the previous season, the previous season, the previous season. When that happens, you have injuries for a long time."