Jurgen Klopp slams ‘useless’ Club World Cup

Jurgen Klopp

Red Bull head of global football Jurgen Klopp slammed the Club World Cup on Tuesday, saying it is asking too much of overworked players.

Despite Red Bull-backed Salzburg's inclusion in FIFA's expanded 32-team tournament in the United States next summer, Klopp said he doesn't like the competition.

"I think it's useless. It doesn't help if you have no summer break," Klopp said, referring to players who played in the World Cup, European Championship, Copa
America or other international competitions.

"Who wins the tournament is the poorest winner of all time because he has to play the whole summer through and then the league starts again. We have now a lot of injuries in European football," Klopp added. "We have to reduce the amount of games. That means in some leagues it would be better (if) you have 18 instead of 20.
"That means in other competitions, you don't add games."

Klopp, who was being presented in his new role by Red Bull, suggested fans should have the opportunity to watch other sports, too.

"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," Klopp said. "You don't have to fill each gap with football."

In November, soccer's global players' union warned that it could not rule out a players' strike because of the number of games they have to play.

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