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Jurgen Klopp, the former Liverpool and Mainz manager, called out the FIFA officials for the expansion of the Club World Cup, for its 2025 edition, which is currently being played in the United States of America. The 58-year-old stated that the Club World Cup is the “worst idea ever implemented in football” before pointing out how the jam-packed schedule won’t give no real recovery time for the players, neither physically nor mentally, year after year.
Notably, the German is currently the head of global soccer (football) operations of Red Bull, and coincidentally, one of their teams, Red Bull Salzburg participated in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. While Salzburg got knocked out of the Club World Cup in group stage, some of the top teams out of 32 are still competing in the tournament, vying to win the coveted trophy after the completion of 48 matches next month.
I have serious fears that players will suffer injuries they've never had before next season: Jurgen Klopp
While speaking exclusively for Welt am Sonntag, a German newspaper, Jurgen Klopp spoke at length about the Club World Cup’s expansion and how it is going to impact the players in the long run. He was quoted as saying, “It's all about the game and not the surrounding events - and that's why the Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football in this regard. People who have never had or do not have anything to do with day-to-day business anymore are coming up with something. There is insane money for participating, but it's also not for every club.”
“Last year it was the Copa [America] and the European Championship, this year it's the Club World Cup, and next year the World Cup. That means no real recovery for the players involved, neither physically nor mentally,” he added. Moreover, a report was released recently by Fipro, the global union of football players, stating that a footballer should be given the chance to have at least four weeks of off-season break.
Furthermore, Jurgen Klopp also remarked, “I have serious fears that players will suffer injuries they've never had before next season. If not next season, then it will happen at the World Cup or afterwards.”
