One of football’s prominent figures, Jurgen Klopp, is in the spotlight after making what has been deemed controversial comments about the FIFA Club World Cup.
The expanded 32-team Club World Cup has had its fair share of critics, but none as influential as Klopp, and his interview with German newspaper Die Welt has caught fire.
“It’s a pointless competition. Whoever wins it will be the worst winner of all time because they’ll have played all summer and then gone straight back into the league,” argued Klopp, on the strain the tournament puts on the players after the conclusion of the regular season for most leagues around the world.
“There are people who have never been involved in the day-to-day business of football and are now coming up with ideas.”
Klopp added that the players’ health should be prioritized over tournaments that add to their workload.
“It’s too many games. I fear that next season we will see injuries like never before. If not then, they’ll come during or after the Club World Cup,” said the former Liverpool manager.
“There’s no real recovery for those involved, neither physically nor mentally.
“An NBA (National Basketball Association) player, who also earns a big salary, has a four-month break every year. This is what Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool captain) got in his entire career.”
Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol begs to differ with Klopp.
“One thing I’d say to Jurgen Klopp is, Jurgen Klopp is now a very senior figure at Red Bull. Does he have a problem with RB Salzburg playing in this competition? I think RB Salzburg probably ended up making £20m-30m-40m from turning up and playing here in the group stages,” the Sky Sports journalist said.
“And also, let’s get real. If these clubs were not playing in these tournaments, what would they be doing? They’d probably be on holiday right now, but once they’re back from holiday, guess what they’d be doing?
“They’d be coming to America for a pre-season tour; they’d be going to the Far East for a pre-season tour.
“Unfortunately, football is not just a sport anymore. Whether you like it or not, football is a business; it’s all about money now. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”
