Maheta Molango slams ‘sick’ calendar after Cole Palmer’s England exit

PFA chief executive Maheta Molango said Cole Palmer (Chelsea) is a “victim” of a “sick” system that places too much demand on players, pointing to Palmer’s withdrawal from the latest England squad. Molango argued the case highlights an unsustainable match calendar and described the national-team setup as a “survival of the fittest”.

The latest international window saw five players pull out of Thomas Tuchel’s group: Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento. Molango pushed back on the idea of managing workloads, saying players “love to play for England” but that “you cannot cheat biology”.

Calls for summer restructuring

The PFA and global players’ union FIFPRO have repeatedly warned that an increasingly congested schedule is harming player welfare. Molango wants a mandatory three-week summer break plus a three-week “retraining” period every summer. Rebecca Caplehorn, the Premier League’s chief football officer, said it’s supported conceptually but is not feasible within the current calendar without regulatory change.

Molango also stressed this is not an England-only issue, referencing recent withdrawals from other European teams, including Germany’s Kai Havertz, the Netherlands striker Brian Brobbey, and France captain Kylian Mbappé.