Jamie Carragher eviscerates Club World Cup and says players 'don't want to be there'

Jamie Carragher has blasted the upcoming Club World Cup in the United States, suggesting ‘nobody wants to be there’, including the players, managers and even fans. The new-look competition kicks off this summer, with 32 teams from across the world set to compete.

Manchester City and Chelsea are the only two English representatives, with the likes of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan also involved in the tournament. Boca Juniors, River Plate and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami are the standout non-European entries.

However, in a scathing assessment of the tournament, former England international Carragher has slated the idea, insisting it will be a waste of time. Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, he explained: “I’ve got no time for it at all, to be honest. I don’t think football can ever stand still. The game has to evolve, it has to move forward.

“Different things have to happen and you have to keep the interest of players, coaches and people around the world. That’s what makes it the best sport in the world, but there’s something about the Club World Cup where I almost feel like it’s being put together by FIFA to almost - not so much compete with the Champions League - but there’s been no thought about the players or the clubs.”

It’s an abandonment of the old format, which saw the continental cup winners from each of FIFA’s associations, alongside a selected host nation member, compete in a mini-tournament mid-season each year. Instead, the expanded edition will take place once every four years, but crucially, take place in the summer.

Carragher isn’t buying it though, hinting it’s nothing more than a financial decision from the world governing body. He added: “It’s a bit like FIFA think, ‘Well, we’ve only got the World Cup every four years and UEFA or Europe have this Champions League. There’s this unbelievable money and financial aspect to it and they have it every year but we’ve got to wait every four years for the World Cup.’ They’ve just tried to create something and I don’t think there’s any appetite really from players, clubs and even supporters.

“I am a massive football fan. I watch everything. I can’t envisage in the summer me stopping my holiday or going in from the (swimming) pool to go and watch a game. I think I’ll probably forget it’s on. Now I might be wrong and in 20 years time this may become that.

“But right now, I don’t think the players and the managers actually want to be there. That’s a really sad state of affairs for a new tournament. When do they ever get a rest? So we’re talking now about players who will only get a rest one summer every four years. That’s not right.”

The Club World Cup gets underway in the US on June 15, just 21 days after the Premier League season finishes.