Jürgen Klopp, head of global soccer at Red Bull, expressed strong criticism of the upcoming Club World Cup on Tuesday, arguing that the tournament places excessive demands on already overworked players. Despite Red Bull-backed Salzburg’s participation in FIFA’s expanded 32-team tournament set to take place in the United States next summer, Klopp remains unconvinced of its value.
“I think it’s useless. It doesn’t help if you have no summer break,” Klopp stated, highlighting the toll that consecutive international competitions, including the World Cup and European Championship, take on athletes. He remarked that the eventual winner of the tournament would be the “poorest winner of all time,” forced to compete throughout the summer before returning to league play. Klopp pointed to the current prevalence of injuries in European football as evidence of the pressing need to reduce the number of matches players are required to participate in.
In his remarks, Klopp suggested that leagues could benefit from a reduction in team numbers, proposing that some leagues might be better served with 18 teams instead of 20. He also encouraged fans to explore other sports during football’s off periods. “In Germany, you could watch handball. In Austria, you could watch skiing or whatever. You have other wonderful sports that you could watch in that time,” he noted, emphasizing that not every gap in the sports calendar needs to be filled with football. His comments come amid growing concerns from soccer’s global players’ union, which has warned that a players’ strike could not be ruled out due to the increasing number of games.
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