Alexander Isak, Striking to Liverpool F.C.

The wider conversation of Alexander Isak, player strikes and athletes

The Athlete Comparison Isak's Club History Isak's Future

NFL and Basketball Disputes Wrap-Up

To sports fans who may not feel that athletes, even if glamourously adorned with status, money, and benefits, may be more like us than we wish to admit. It's important to remember, from time to time, they too feel the hindrance and monotony of the 'rat-race'. 

The Athlete Comparison

Unionisation and the awareness of 'employee' needs and wants have affected all industries. To sports fans who may not feel that athletes, even if glamourously adorned with status, money, and benefits, may be more like us than we wish to admit. It's important to remember, from time to time, they too feel the hindrance and monotony of the 'rat-race'. 

Isak's Club history

The controversy began with Isak's strike from playing for Newcastle from 14 August 2025. Talks had begun two months prior to the strike of Isak's wish to leave Newcastle's highest club transfer (potentially £63m) when they acquired the Swede. Isak had signed a six-year contract to last from August 2022 till June 2028, but following the striker's thigh injury and absence from training and team tours chatter travelled amongst Newcastle fans and football media. On the 19th August 2025, Isak took to Instagram to publicise his feelings and mental state to fans and to general football pundits, stating,

"I'm Proud to be recognised by my fellow professionals with a place in the PFA Premier League Team of the Season for 2024/25. First and foremost, I want to thank my teammates and everyone at Newcastle United who has supported me along the way.

I'm not at the ceremony tonight. With everything going on, it didn't feel right to be there. I've kept quiet for a long time while others have spoken. That silence has allowed people to push their own version of events, even though they know it doesn't reflect what was really said and agreed behind closed doors.

The reality is that promises were made, and the club has known my position for a long time. To now act as if these issues are only emerging is misleading. When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can't continue. That's where things are for me right now – and why change is in the best interests of everyone, not just myself." 

Isak had previously helped Newcastle accomplish club and league feats, the main being in March, delivering Newcastle their first domestic title in 70 years. Scoring the 2nd goal in their 2-1 victory over his new team Liverpool, to win the Carabao Cup, alongside fellow Newcastle Defender Dan Burn. Since Isak's two-year tenure, he has only increased in Premier League status, becoming one of the top goal scorers in the league and becoming one of the six nominees for the Professional Players' Player of the Year award, losing to new teammate, 3-time winner Mohammed Salah. 

Ex-teammate Burn stated in an interview, echoing a lack of ill sentiment toward the established striker's move away from Newcastle and the manner in which it took place, stating,

"I've been in football long enough to understand that for a player, the careers are short and they've got things that they want to achieve, so for me, happy that it's over.

Alex is a mate, so it was a tough situation because you wanted him to be around and helping the team, but also understand for him what he needs to do personally. So I've got nothing but good wishes for Alex.

You want players to be there who want to play for Newcastle, and naively, you don't want them to think that there's anywhere else to go, apart from playing at Newcastle.

So I understand why our fans are frustrated. But as I said, I think I've been in the game long enough now to understand what goes on. 

I wish Alex all the best, apart from when we play Liverpool." 

Isak's Future

It seems to have paid off for the soon-to-be 26-year-old professional footballer. Now a part of the roster considered to be the most effective and durable football club in the Premier League, Liverpool F.C. Liverpool F.C. lead the 2024 to 2025 season in offensive metrics such as goals, clean sheets, assists, etc. 

What happens behind closed doors is where general sports fans miss the narratives that motivate players to do what they do. Beyond football, we've seen examples of this in American Football, basketball, and other sports. In such cases, the points of contention can be due to pay, health, satisfaction, or just straight-up ambition, put more simply.

NFL and Basketball Disputes

For the NFL, we witnessed the notable period of Colin Kaepernick's protest of kneeling during the national anthem in 2016. The act of defiance was to amplify the injustices of police brutality and racial inequality. As powerful a movement as it was, galvanising supporters of the cause, this also led to the immediate and effectual ending of his career. Later on, persisting in the efforts on behalf of inequalities as a civil rights activist. 

There is also the 2011 NFL Lockout, an example of the divide between players and organisations with the lack of agreement on the NFL CBA - Collective Bargaining Agreement, which dealt with subjects such as salary, financial transparency, and player and occupational health. The dispute led to the NFL owners shutting down all NFL operations. All benefits associated with a player being signed to an NFL team were withheld during the four months of the lockout period from March to July 2011. This included training at team facilities, access to team doctors, and communication with organisations. The CBA was eventually agreed upon, come the NFL regular season of 2011. 

For basketball, we have the case of the 3-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard. Whose interests began to skew with the San Antonio Spurs organisation toward the end of his tenure with the team. He claimed health complications that kept him from joining the team for games and training. The organisation grew frustrated, having spent time, money, and resources trying to get him back on the court as justification for fans and for the $94 million rookie maximum extension they'd given him. Eventually, trading him to the Toronto Raptors, where he'd end up bringing Canada its first NBA championship to date.

Fast forward 7 years, and Los Angeles Clippers fans are getting itchy with the player's reliability. Following the trend of looking after his body rather than pleasing the fans and organisation. Although this has not stopped the trending conspiracy of whether the Clippers organisation tried to facilitate funds to Kawhi through eco-friendly company Aspiration on top of his 3-year, $149 million maximum veteran extension. It's come to light that Aspiration signed Leonard to a $28 million, 4-year deal in 2022. The company then filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, with the CEO arrested for fraud to the approximate amount of $248 million. The Clippers have yet to be investigated. 

Wrap-Up

As with all industries, alignment of employees and the employer continues to create disillusionment when comparing the context to the sports world. They end up seeming just like the common person, in need of good health benefits, a fair salary (in some of their cases, inflated), and a clear and upward path of progression.

When joining any professional organisation, assurances are given, your best interests are supposedly accounted for, and nothing could ever go wrong as long as you're with that specific organisation, but as Alexander Isak stated, "When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can't continue".