Jurgen Klopp proven right over Club World Cup concerns | OneFootball

Liverpool's main concern right now helping those impacted by Diogo Jota's passing, be it the players, his family or fans who are distressed and looking to pay their respects.

Time on Merseyside has somewhat stood still for the past few days, as everyone attempts to get their head around the news. For many, they will need to allow themselves to grieve his loss before things begin to return to normality, if that is even possible now that the Portuguese striker is gone.

Right now, football is not important, although the world will keep turning even though Jota is no longer here, and eventually we will all need something else to focus on, cherishing the memories we have of Jota while we continue to live our lives, not forgetting the legacy he will leave behind.

This article is not intended to take any of the attention away from the tributes posted on the website, nor the general focus that will remain on Jota for the time being, but other more insignificant pieces of football news are continuing to unfold and if you need a distraction, then here you go.

Klopp's stance on the Club World Cup had its merits

While the former manager is not at the club anymore, he is still a member of the LFC family and news surrounding him matters to us in the greater scheme of football discourse.

As Red Bull's 'head of global soccer', he oversees the organisations football teams, such as Leipzig and Salzburg, and a few weeks ago, he weighed in on FIFA's new Club World Cup format, voicing concerns that player welfare was being overlooked for entertainment and clubs' monetary gain.

From a personal standpoint, the tournament makes little sense. Chelsea qualified because they won the Champions League in 2021 - four years ago - and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami qualified at the request of FIFA, not because they won the MLS - they qualified first for the playoffs in 2024 but then lost in the quarter-finals of their division. Messi gets viewership figures up in their mind.

Furthermore, an extraordinary prize pool has been allocated, but not every team will bring home the same amount of money, because whether you're from Europe or not matters in the coefficients.

As such, we're seeing players go from the end of their club seasons, to international breaks with their countries, and then back to their club for the Club World Cup, before they might just have time to rest and recuperate before they return back to their club's for pre-season and the new campaign.

Last season already had more games than ever since UEFA re-formatted the Champions League, alongside the Europa League and the Conference League. Eventually, players will be impacted.

On Saturday night, we finally saw the first major consequence of the increased workload and it was not a pretty sight, as Jamal Musical twisted his ankle - an injury that will see him sidelined for a least the next few months, if not the majority of the upcoming season with Bayern Munich.

Now it is not my intention to points score, but Klopp was told to 'play a game of paddle' or 'go for a swim' by a reputable Sky Sports News journalist called Kaveh Solhekol and yet none of the players featuring in this tournament will have the opportunity to do so now their schedules are packed up.

Liverpool of course were not invited, despite winning the Premier League this season, and in honesty it feels like a blessing in disguise. Although the impact of the tournament on the clubs involved this season is still being assessed, you work expect players to burn out eventually through mental fatigue.

Of course, this isn't really relevant to anyone on Merseyside right now, because far more important concerns are being addressed with regard to recent events, but if you are looking for a distraction, then the Club World Cup will likely be something that you have seen going on in the background.

We wish Musiala all the best in his recovery and anyone affected by the passing of Diogo Jota should speak out. The football community is grieving and your mental health is paramount right now.