Kieran Maguire: Fifa trying to tempt Man City chiefs with ‘big’ payout on the cards
Fifa want to get the owners of Man City and other clubs on board with their Fifa World Club Cup format by offering ‘big’ prize payouts.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that player welfare has been ignored in favour of financial gain by Fifa.
Fifa are set to introduce a new format for their Club World Cup that mirrors the structure of the international World Cup with 32 teams competing in a group stage and then a knockout phase.
City recently won the Club World Cup with a 4-0 win over Brazilian side Fluminense to lift their fifth trophy of 2023.
As per the Daily Mail, the Premier League has launched an official complaint to Fifa over their restructured tournament suggesting they failed to consult them about the changes.
The changes will add even more games to a season’s schedule and force the Premier League to start at a later date than usual.
Maguire suggests that Fifa are ‘jealous’ of Uefa’s success with the Champions League and believes player welfare has been overlooked in favour of financial benefit.
“Fifa lose money three years out of four and they only have a successful financial year when the World Cup takes place,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“They are very jealous of Uefa and their success with the Champions League every year and the Euros taking place every four.
“So Fifa are now trying to replicate that with their new Club World Cup format.
“It is all being driven by financial concerns.
“The beneficiaries will be the participants and Fifa are trying to get the owners of clubs like Man City on board as they will receive a huge boost in revenue.
“The concerns for player welfare are negligible, as evidenced by the expansion of the World Cup itself.
“It’s as if they’re trying to squeeze every last drop from players.
“We saw in the Champions League final only a few months ago that Kevin de Bruyne couldn’t manage a full match and Erling Haaland also had a subdued game which is a shame as so many matches that should be memorable are turning out frighteningly dull because players are being overplayed.“
In other news, Aston Villa star’s head turned by Man City swoop