Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Maheta Molango stated that the Club World Cup is devaluing football due to high temperatures and low attendance. Players are struggling to perform, with reports of requests for substitutions during games played in extreme heat and humidity. Six matches were suspended due to thunderstorms. Concerns arise as the quality of play declines, impacting audience engagement. Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp criticized the tournament, calling it "the worst idea ever implemented in football," while calls for longer off-season breaks for players were voiced by global players' union Fifpro.
"We're devaluing the product and it's a shame because if I'm a US fan and that's my first exposure to soccer, that's not good."
"We've reached a stage where the quality is dropping, because there's no way you can have a good game if you play at 4pm in Mexico."
"It's impossible, because the players themselves say to you 'I cannot. I need to manage my efforts' - which would mean what you see on the pitch is not good, the audiences drop, it's as simple as that."
"My hope is that people now, even from a pure business perspective, will see that it does not make sense."
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