Pep Guardiola has reacted to Jurgen Klopp’s vehement opposition to the FIFA Club World Cup and, while understanding the German’s point of view, also appeared to throw a sly dig at Liverpool in his response.
After the 58-year-old derided the ongoing tournament in the USA as ‘the worst idea ever implemented in football’, Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol bit back by telling him to ‘go and play padel or go for a swim’.
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster firmly defended the former Reds manager’s stance on the much-derided competition, which finished just 33 days before the start of the new Premier League season.
Guardiola reacts to Klopp’s Club World Cup tirade
Guardiola’s Manchester City are still involved in the tournament – they take on Al-Hilal in the round of 16 at 2am GMT on Tuesday morning – and although he took Klopp’s point, he added that its critics might view it differently if their own teams were partaking in the United States.
The Spaniard said in a press conference (via Liverpool Echo): “I fought a lot with Jurgen many, many times. I know where his idea comes from. I respect him; I would defend his argument as well.
“At the same time, as managers, we are in a job. We don’t organise the competitions. Once we are here, we are proud. Many, many teams complain about these competitions because they are not here. Otherwise, they might love being here.”
Guardiola might have a different view in a few months’ time…
Was Guardiola maybe having a little dig at Liverpool with his latter remarks? Possibly, but we doubt there are too many Reds fans experiencing withdrawal symptoms because of our absence from the ongoing Club World Cup.
Yes, the Gianni Infantino-led extravaganza might yield vast prize money for the teams who are involved, but the severely shortened break that Man City and Chelsea will get from playing in it can’t be beneficial for their Premier League prospects in 2025/26.
Also, it wasn’t as though Klopp was jealous at LFC not being in he tournament. As ever, his comments came from a good place and were made with the increasingly pertinent topic of player welfare in mind, something that FIFA and the sport’s powerbrokers seem to wilfully neglect.
To be fair to Guardiola, he acknowledged in the same press conference that his team’s presence at the Club World Cup could potentially cripple their domestic campaign when the winter rolls around, with his players at real risk of exhaustion from the sheer volume of football they’re being asked to play.
It might take another few months for the consequences of Infantino’s vanity project to properly be felt, but thankfully that won’t be of any worry to Liverpool, who’ll instead have the benefit of a full pre-season in the coming weeks as they look towards defending their Premier League title from August onwards.
