Thibaut Courtois believes soccer should use the NBA's "load management" model

Thibaut Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in soccer, and he's using his influence in the sport to seek change for players around the world. Like many global soccer stars, Courtois has become infatuated with the NBA over the years, which is why he wants soccer to take a page out of basketball's book to protect its players.

Of all the major sports globally, professional soccer certainly has the least amount of downtime for players, especially when considering that many top players aren't just fulfilling their obligations with club teams but also international duties during major tournaments like the FIFA World, Copa America, UEFA Euros and more.

For example, a typical European soccer season begins in July or early August (with preseason training beginning even earlier) and then running all the way through May at the conclusion of the club campaign. That leaves a small window of late May and June for players to recover from a 10-month season.

In many cases though, the summer isn't a time for rest, especially during when a major tournament occurs such as when the World Cup returns to North America in 2026.

That's why Courtois wants pro soccer to mirror the NBA when it comes to "load management" as a means of helping to give players more downtime during an already congested schedule. During an interview with CNN, the Real Madrid superstar discussed his thoughts on how his sport could potentially become safer with these measures.

"I think (soccer) players will not mind to play nine months non-stop with proper preparation and load management.

If you have two months off in summer, like (the) NBA, you can rest your body one month and you can train one month. People will be more ready to do nine months fully. When you don’t rest, then it’s when all the injuries pile up."
- Thibaut Courtois told CNN

Players like Courtois, Antoine Griezmann, Neymar and many more have become more involved in NBA culture over the years, so it's only natural that by surrounding themselves with basketball stars that they've seen the difference in how they are treated.

While load management in the NBA has been criticized by many fans and pundits that want to see the best players on the court every night, it's the stars that benefit most from not appearing in all 82 games each season.

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