Club World Cup 'crazy' and 'a circus' as ex-Man Utd star warns Cristiano Ronaldo

Louis Saha has slammed FIFA's revamped Club World Cup format, labelling it as "insane", "crazy" and "a circus". He also accused football clubs and the governing body of not caring about players' welfare. The expanded tournament, kicking off on June 14 in the USA, will see 32 teams competing in eight groups of four, with qualifiers progressing to a round of 16 and a total of 63 matches being played.

This is a significant increase from the seven matches in the previous version of the tournament held in 2023. Saha, who missed Manchester United's Club World Cup triumph in 2008 after transferring to Everton following their Champions League win the previous season, is not impressed with the changes and views it as nothing more than a money-making scheme. He said: "I hate it. I see the damage done to players and their creativity. I am worried for their welfare, and this is one of my biggest concerns.

"I think back to a few years ago when the authorities wanted to stop the European Super League and now they're looking at ways to earn more money, to produce a huge financial incentive for clubs, hundreds of millions of pounds being up for grabs.

"The teams want the money, of course, and I understand why that is appealing to clubs and FIFA, but we can't pretend that they care about the players and the demands we're putting on them. They simply don't care. I think that, as a result, you're going to see some players sit it out and maybe some teams just won't field their strongest sides.

"You might get some inter. There have been some interesting starting line-ups, with some teams resting their weary players.

"It's also not a practical time to launch another tournament with a transfer window just for the competition and then also the normal transfer window. Players aren't going to be able to focus properly, and their minds are going to be on their longer-term future. It's all wrong."

"I know some fans could be intrigued, but the format is insane. 32 teams, a month long, it's crazy. You could try something shorter, a couple of weeks maybe and see how it goes. I know football is a business, but this almost makes me want to boycott it.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last week it might be possible that Cristiano Ronaldo could still play in the tournament and said "discussions" were taking place with various clubs after Ronaldo's Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr failed to qualify. Saha, a former team-mate of Ronaldo at Old Trafford, has warned the Portuguese not to tarnish his legacy by making such a move.

Speaking to 10bet, he added: "Gianni Infantino talking about maybe getting Cristiano Ronaldo to the Club World Cup, it's a circus. When I look at the World Cup and how he played, things didn't favour him. It could be fun to see him against his great rival Lionel Messi.

"Of course, Cristiano still wants to shine on the biggest stages and he still wants to win trophies. The Club World Cup gives him the chance to add another trophy to his legacy, and maybe that's what Infantino is trying to do, to tempt him to appear this summer.

"But the fact is, this tournament is crazy. I can't tell Ronaldo that it's a good idea for him to lend it his credibility, because it's just not good for football. It's going to cause damage. It's a commercial activity, not a sporting one. The Champions League is enough - we don't need this."

Louis Saha was speaking on behalf of 10bet. For more information, visit