Top players’ contracts will run out in the middle of Club World Cup

Leading players due to appear at Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup next summer have asked for clarification on the status of those whose contracts expire at the end of June – midway through the controversial new tournament.

The 32-team competition staged over June and July has already attracted criticism for adding even more games – and cutting rest time – for the world’s top players. Manchester City and Chelsea will be the Premier League representatives in what is Fifa’s attempt to break into the lucrative club television rights market, and challenge Uefa’s dominance.

Among those due to play at the Club World Cup, City’s Kevin De Bruyne will be out of contract on June 30, which is the year end for registrations recognised globally by Fifa. It is understood many more players at the 12 Uefa clubs and beyond are seeking clarification on their contract status for the tournament.

Fifa has not yet released its tournament schedule, host cities or broadcast partnerships for the tournament. The competition, to be played chiefly in the eastern United States, will conclude with a final on July 13, most likely in New York or Miami.

By then De Bruyne will be out of contract. Currently the same will apply to Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez at Real Madrid, historically Europe’s most successful club. While most players approaching free agency have decided their futures by June, it probably means that those who have opted not to renew will not be able to feature at the tournament.

The problem is much more acute at Bayern Munich, another Uefa qualifier for the Club World Cup. As well as the legendary striker Thomas Muller, goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer and his understudy Sven Ulreich are currently out of contract at the end of June. So too midfielder Joshua Kimmich, left-back Alphonso Davies and English centre-half Eric Dier.

Although some situations may change over the next few months, the contractual issue is problematic. The knockout round is likely to start at the beginning of July when players would be out of contract. The problem was summarised by one source who told Telegraph Sport: “If this had been held last summer, Kylian Mbappe would have started the Club World Cup playing for PSG and ended it at Real Madrid.”

While that eventuality would have to be avoided by Fifa, it is notable that Bayern left-back Davies is a long-term free agent target for Madrid.

With competitive club football not ordinarily played in June and July when the contract cycle ends, players coming out of contract mid-tournament has never before been an issue. There are major legal complexities with out-of-contract players – not least their salary, but also insurance.

Telegraph Sport can reveal that Fifa is close to a new announcement on the Club World Cup - with the host cities due to be named in the coming weeks. Thus far, the key announcements since Fifa released the qualifying criteria have been the official tournament logo, its official song and its official slogan: “Take it to the World.”

It is anticipated that the games will be hosted at a selection of venues from the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey; Washington DC’s FedEx Field; Philadelphia’s Subaru Park; Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium, Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium; Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium; Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium and Seattle’s Lumen Field. The latter is the only west coast option, but its football heritage – and the participation in the tournament of the Seattle Sounders - make it an obvious choice.

One of the many problems facing Fifa president Gianni Infantino is that his vision for the tournament means there are likely to be a number of games of little or no interest to a US audience. As well as the heavyweights of Europe and South America the competition will feature clubs from Oceania, Asia and Africa who will command less of a following in the US. Judging an appropriate stadium to hold those games has been a challenge.

Potential strike

Seattle aside, Fifa is expected to leave the west coast free to host another major international tournament – the Concacaf Gold Cup – from June 14 to July 6. There will be pressure on national federations in Concacaf, which represents north and central America, to allow players with both club and country call-ups to participate in the marquee Club World Cup. From Concacaf, three Mexican clubs, Leon, Pachuca and Monterrey, have qualified for the Club World Cup, as well as Seattle.

City midfielder Rodri this week added his voice to player protests against an ever more densely-packed schedule. The Champions League has been expanded to eight group-stage games, and the Nations League also stages divisional finals for national teams in June. The players do not believe they can play in them all, and the players’ union, the Professional Footballers’ Association, has raised the prospect of a potential strike.

The key question for Fifa is how it will pay for the Club World Cup. It has established a joint venture with the European Club Association [ECA], which represents Europe’s leading clubs, to divide up the revenue from the competition. The deadline for broadcast tenders is Tuesday. Fifa declared cash reserves of $3.5 billion [£2.6 billion] as of December 2023 in its most recent financial results, although that has to sustain the organisation’s up-front investments in tournaments for the current cycle, including the 2026 World Cup finals.

Broadcasters have focused their resources on winning rights to the Champions League, the Premier League and the World Cup for national teams. The provenance of the new Club World Cup is thought to be untested and there are fears that some clubs may have to play weakened sides. There are suggestions that Fifa may have an agreement with Saudi Arabia to fund the first few editions of the competition, a deal which would potentially be made easier once Fifa Congress approves Saudi’s hosting of the 2034 World Cup finals.

As things stand clubs such as Real, who can command high fees to play prestigious summer friendlies may want between €40 million and €50 million. Infantino’s status is bound to the tournament being a success and delivering the clubs the kind of earnings that they would expect for such a major disruption to the season’s cycle. Infantino, once a key aide to Michel Platini at Uefa, wants to supplant the Champions League as the world’s biggest club football competition.

Participating clubs, who tend to plan schedules and travel months in advance have been unable to book training grounds, hotels and flight schedules until the details are finalised.

Fifa will still play the annual short-form version of the Club World Cup – now rebranded as the Fifa Intercontinental Cup in mid-December. Champions League winners Real Madrid will represent Europe. Manchester City won the competition last season in Saudi. Fifa has been approached for further comment.