Jurgen Klopp has hit out at the newly expanded Club World Cup, calling it the “worst idea ever implemented in football.”
The former Liverpool manager, who won the tournament with the club in 2019 under its old format, believes the updated version places an unnecessary burden on top-level players.
That triumph, Liverpool’s first in the competition, came when the tournament was a smaller event. Now, the new 32-team version began just two weeks after the Champions League final and has already reached the last-16 stage.
Liverpool are not participating this time, unlike Chelsea and Manchester City, and Klopp admits he’s relieved.
Speaking to German outlet Welt, he said: “The Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football in this regard. People who have never had anything to do with day-to-day business are coming up with ideas.
“I understand those who say: But there are insane sums of money for participation. But that’s not for every club. Last year it was the Copa and the Euro, this year the Club World Cup, and next year the World Cup.
“That means no real recovery for the players involved, neither physically nor mentally. Of course, they all earn a lot of money. But let’s leave that aside for a moment.”
🗣️ Klopp: “Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football. People who have never had anything to do with day-to-day business are coming up with ideas.
I fear that next season players will suffer injuries they’ve never had before. If not, then it’ll happen at the… pic.twitter.com/vF2eV8Nyky
— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) June 28, 2025
Klopp pointed to the cumulative toll on players’ health, using Virgil van Dijk as an example.
“A player in the NBA who also earns a lot of money has four months off every year. Virgil van Dijk hasn’t even had that in his entire career. Tournaments like the Club World Cup can’t be played on the backs of the players. I don’t wish it on anyone, but I have a serious fear.”
The tournament will run through to July 13, meaning clubs like City and Chelsea will have only five weeks before the start of the Premier League season on August 16.
Klopp believes this congested schedule will cause significant issues, warning: “Perhaps not everyone has recognized the real problem yet, that next season players will suffer injuries they’ve never had before. If not this season, then it will happen at the World Cup or afterward.
“We constantly tell them to go into every game as if it were their last. We tell them that 70 or 75 times a year. But it can’t go on like this.”
He added that the quality of the game itself could decline if nothing changes.
“We have to make sure they have breaks, because if they don’t get them, they won’t be able to deliver top performances in the long run, and if they can’t do that anymore, the entire product loses value for the sellers,” he said.
Since leaving Liverpool last summer after nearly a decade in charge, Klopp has taken on a new role as Red Bull’s global sporting director, where he oversees their network of football clubs.
