‘It’s Our Right’—Barcelona Ace Raphinha Blasts Club World Cup | OneFootball

Barcelona star Raphinha has criticized the scheduling and reformatting of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup due to concerns over player welfare.

This summer’s revamped tournament in the United States has further congested the football calendar and forced players for many of the 32 teams to cut short their rest and recovery time in order to compete for the title.

Some clubs have already taken time away from their ongoing domestic campaigns to feature at the Club World Cup, while others—such as the competition’s 12 European sides—traveled to North America less than a month after the end of their 2024–25 campaigns.

There has been justifiable concerns over the jam-packed schedule and it’s impact on player welfare, with Raphinha expressing his frustrations about the tournament despite Barcelona’s failure to qualify.

“You have to go and that’s it, because we follow orders, we have to be there playing,” Raphinha told Brazilian media. “Giving up our vacation by obligation is very complicated because it’s our right. Everyone deserves at least a month off, maybe three weeks. And many of those playing in the World Cup won’t even get a month.

The Club World Cup will now take place every four years. / Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

“Football is a job like any other, and we need breaks to recharge. You can’t keep up this level of intensity without rest.”

The Club World Cup final takes place on July 13 and any European finalists would only have a month between the showpiece event and the beginning of their domestic 2025–26 season. Players will also be expected to report for pre-season training before the campaign actually begins.

Understandably, many are concerned over the introduction of a new month-long tournament, with former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp having joined Raphinha in taking aim at the competition.

“The Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football,” Klopp told Welt am Sonntag. “People who have never had anything to do with day-to-day business are coming up with ideas.

“I fear that next season players will suffer injuries they’ve never had before. If not, then it’ll happen at the [2026] World Cup or afterwards.”