Chelsea and Man City stars set for talks over boycotting competition despite £600m prize

Chelsea and Manchester City stars are reportedly set to be asked whether they plan to boycott next summer’s Club World Cup in the United States.

The two Premier League sides are set to travel to the States at the end of the 2024/25 campaign for the new-look Club World Cup.

It’s an expansion of the existing competition, which was previously played annually between nine clubs.

Instead, the new edition will be held once every four years, with 32 different teams taking part.

Chelsea and City earned qualification for the updated format courtesy of their respective Champions League triumphs in 2021 and 2023.

But, as debates about players’ schedules rage on, it’s claimed the likes of Cole Palmer, Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne could boycott the upcoming Club World Cup tournament.

That’s according to The Sun, who claim the Professional Footballers’ Association would back strike action taken by players in the US next summer.

Commenting on the situation, PFA boss Maheta Molango said: “This is not an attack on Fifa or the Club World Cup but we have reached a tipping point.

“This will be the defining season for football. The calendar doesn’t make any sense. We have been warning for a long time but this season we will have a very telling example of what is happening.

“Our legal case questions if there were potential breaches of the right to enjoy a holiday and if Fifa is abusing a dominant position. The players are conscious, across the pyramid, about the calendar.

“When people try to portray this as just about the elite players it’s just not true. It is massive and goes beyond that.

“Our legal case questions if there were potential breaches of the right to enjoy a holiday and if Fifa is abusing a dominant position. The players are conscious, across the pyramid, about the calendar.

“When people try to portray this as just about the elite players it’s just not true. It is massive and goes beyond that.”

The format for the new Club World Cup follows that of the most recent international World Cup, with 32 teams split into eight groups of four.

Two teams progress from each group to the last-16, with a traditional knockout format following thereafter.

It means, that should either City or Chelsea go the distance in the US, it’s an extra seven matches added to an already hectic schedule.

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