Arsène Wenger has refuted Jürgen Klopp’s claim that the revamped FIFA Club World Cup is the “worst idea ever,” insisting clubs are desperate to be involved in the new-look tournament.
Former Liverpool manager Klopp has been among those to criticise the 32-team, month-long Club World Cup on account of it further congesting the already bloated football calendar. 63 matches in total are played during the competition, which has been held in the United States and concludes on Sunday, July 13.
However, ex-Arsenal manager Wenger, who now works for FIFA as chief of global football development, has rebuffed Klopp’s strongly-held opinion.
“I am going to give a very boring answer to a very interesting question. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and I don’t share the view of Jürgen Klopp at all,” said the legendary French coach.
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“I feel a Club World Cup is needed. If you make enquiries to all the clubs who were here then 100% of answers would be that they would want to do it again. That’s the best answer of what the clubs think of a Club World Cup.
“And the decisive question is do the fans like it or not? We believe the attendances were projected as low and in reality were much higher. The answer is there.”
Despite Wenger’s insistence that attendances were high at the tournament, there have been notably empty stadiums during a number of matches—especially in the group stage. Ticket prices have also been slashed for certain fixtures due to lack of interest.
Unlike the previous iteration of the Club World Cup, the new format sees the competition held every four years. The next tournament will be staged in 2029, with the host country yet to be confirmed.
Chelsea will play the final match of this year’s tournament when they meet European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the showpiece event this weekend.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsene Wenger Bites Back at Jurgen Klopp Over Club World Cup Criticism.
