Jurgen Klopp: 'FIFA Club World Cup is the worst idea, many people keep trying to think of something'

Jurgen Klopp is now the head of global football at Red Bull and one of their teams, Red Bull Salzburg, recently participated in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. They were eliminated in the group stage, after finishing third in Group H behind Real Madrid and Al Hilal.

In an exclusive interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Klopp spoke about the expanded format and player development. He said: "The FIFA Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football... there are many people trying to come up with something. There is a lot of money to participate, but not every club can participate.

Last year it was the Copa America and the European Championship, this year it's the FIFA Club World Cup, and next year it's the World Cup. That means the players involved don't have time off to recover both physically and mentally."

In September last year, Manchester City midfielder Rodri said players were close to going on strike because of the increased number of games, while his team-mate Manuel Akanji said he would have to retire at the age of 30 because his busy schedule left him with little time off.

Earlier, global players' union FIFPRO released a report saying players should be given at least four weeks of rest before the season. The organization also filed a legal complaint with the European Commission over what it said was FIFA's "abuse of dominant position", specifically relating to the 2025 Club World Cup.