John Terry disagrees with Alisson and Rodri over Club World Cup stance
Chelsea icon John Terry believes players do want to participate in the Club World Cup, describing it as a unique chance that comes once in a lifetime. It comes after Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson slammed UEFA and Rodri threatedned strike action.
FIFA is launching an expanded 32-team tournament set to take place in the United States next summer, with Chelsea and Manchester City among the global club teams competing. The event, scheduled from June 15 to July 13, has been met with concerns over an already packed fixture list, leading to comments from City's Rodri about potential strike action by players.
However, Terry, the former England skipper, believes that top players are keen on the Club World Cup, viewing it as a potential pinnacle in their careers. Both Chelsea and City have previously been crowned world champions after Champions League triumphs and participation in the earlier, smaller format of the Club World Cup.
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Terry emphasized the importance of such prestigious competitions in an interview with FIFA. Terry stated: "I've been asked this a couple of times. As a player, [it's] like: 'Do you really care about the [FIFA Club World Cup]? ' Absolutely you do.
"So, 100% as a football club, we're going to be prepared to go there and be looking to win it. And, obviously, there's some really top sides there as well, but from a player's perspective, it's been thrown, kind of my generation and the generation after me, that it doesn't really matter.
"It does, 100% this matters. So, as a football club, we're excited and delighted to be there, and we're going to come and bring our best players, our best squad, and give it our best opportunity because I think that's what the fans want to see.
"You get one chance at these big competitions, two if you're lucky, maybe three or four, if you're [Cristiano] Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi you get to do it a lot of times. But, I think for the normal player, these don't come about very often, and I think it's important to take these opportunities.
"So, when these opportunities are here - This is what I'm saying, from a Chelsea perspective, it's an opportunity to win a trophy and test yourself against the best. I think for where Chelsea is at the moment as well, it's really a bit of good news that we would like, it's an opportunity to win another trophy.
"So, from our perspective, you know, I see teams from the South American countries playing really exciting football, with some real, real talent.
"So, also, it's a shop window for those guys as well, to put themselves in the window for the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, and many other teams playing in the Premier League and the high-level leagues across the world. So, these guys are here to showcase themselves as well, which makes it even more exciting as well.
"It was incredible for me, because you win your league, you qualify for the Champions League. You win the Champions League, you qualify for these competitions, and testing yourself against the very best is not something you do often.
"So, in my generation, we won the Champions League once. I missed out on the [UEFA] Super Cup because I was suspended. So, for me, I would've loved to have won it and added that to my collection. Unfortunately, I'm a little bit older now I've missed out, but it's still great to see so many top teams competing."