As the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup marches through its newly expanded 32-team format, one of soccer’s most respected voices has delivered a scathing critique. Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, now part of the Red Bull soccer hierarchy, has made it abundantly clear that he sees the tournament not as a triumph of global growth, but as a serious danger to the future of the sport. His three-word statement, used during a passionate interview with German outlet Welt am Sonntag, left no room for ambiguity — and has since reverberated throughout the soccer world.
Klopp has never shied away from addressing player welfare concerns, but his latest comments represent his most forceful stance to date. While soccer continues to expand in scale, reach, and financial stakes, Klopp argues that the human element — the players — is being pushed past its limits.
“Perhaps not everyone has recognized the real problem yet,” he warned. “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.”
His main concern centers on the lack of recovery time for elite players. Klopp pointed out that top stars are now expected to compete year-round, often without sufficient mental or physical breaks between competitions. “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,” he said.
What did Klopp say about the scheduling crisis?
Klopp directly called out FIFA’s decision-makers for creating what he considers a short-sighted expansion. “The Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in soccer,” he declared. “People who have never had anything to do with day-to-day business are coming up with ideas.”
This year’s Club World Cup — hosted in the United States — has seen domestic seasons interrupted, pre-seasons shortened, and players’ holidays canceled altogether. While FIFA touts the massive prize money (reportedly $125 million for the winner), Klopp argues that it benefits only a small circle of clubs and comes at the expense of the majority.
“Yes, some say the money is insane, but that’s not the case for every club. These tournaments can’t be played on the backs of players,” Klopp insisted.
Van Dijk’s example and NBA comparisons
To emphasize the relentless demands placed on players, Klopp referenced Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, saying that “Virgil has never had a four-month break in his career”. He then compared this to NBA players, who “earn a lot of money, yes — but they also get four months off every year.”
In Klopp’s eyes, soccer’s calendar has spiraled out of control, and players are paying the price with injuries, burnout, and shortened careers. “We constantly tell them to go into every game as if it were their last. We do this 70 to 75 times a year. But it can’t go on like this,” he said.
