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Jurgen Klopp has come out of the recent expanded World Club, calling -the “worst idea never implemented in football”.
The former director of Liverpool, who won the tournament with the club in 2019 under his old format, believes that the updated version is an unnecessary burden on top -notch players.
This triumph, Liverpool’s first in the competition, came when the tournament was a smaller event. Now, the new 32 -team version began two weeks after the Champions League final and has reached the last phase of 16 years.
Liverpool does not participate this time, unlike Chelsea and Manchester City, and Klopp admits that he is relieved.
Speaking to Welt Welt, he said: “The Club World Cup is the worst idea that has been implemented in football in this regard. People who have never had anything to do with everyday businesses come up with ideas.
“I understand those who say: But there are sums of insane money for participation. But this is not for all clubs. Last year it was the Cup and the euro, this year the Club World Cup and next year the World Cup.
“This means that there is no real recovery for the involved players, neither physically nor mentally. Of course, they all make a lot of money. But let’s leave it for a moment.”
🗣️ Klopp: “The Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football. People who have never had anything to do with everyday businesses, come up with ideas.
I am afraid that the players of next season will suffer injuries that they have never had. If not, it will go to … pic.twitter.com/vf2ev8nyky
– Football Talk (@footBalltalkhq) June 28, 2025
Klopp noted the accumulated weight on players’ health, using as an example Virgil Van Dijk.
“An NBA player who also earns a lot of money has four months of rest every year. Virgil Van Dijk has not even had it in his entire career. Tournaments like the Club World Cup cannot be played on the players’ back. I don’t wish anyone, but I am serious.”
The tournament will take place until July 13, which means that clubs like City and Chelsea will have only five weeks before the start of the Premier League season on August 16.
Klopp believes that this congested calendar will cause major problems, warning: “Maybe not everyone has recognized the real problem, that the players next season will suffer injuries they had never had before. If not this season, it will happen in the World Cup or later.
“We are constantly telling them to enter all parties as if it were their last. We tell them 70 or 75 times a year. But it cannot continue like this.”
He added that the quality of the game itself could decrease if nothing changes.
“We have to make sure that they have breaks, because if they do not get them, they will not be able to give more important actions in the long run and, if they can no longer do it, the whole product loses value for the sellers,” he said.
Since leaving Liverpool last summer after almost a decade, Klopp has taken a new role as Global Sports Director of Red Bull, where he oversees his network of football clubs.
