Arsene Wenger responds to Jurgen Klopp’s claim that Club World Cup is ‘the worst idea ever in football’ | OneFootball

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called the Club World Cup a “fantastic competition” in response to Jurgen Klopp’s claim that the tournament is the worst idea ever implemented in football.

Klopp called the tournament “a pointless competition” in June, criticising the amount of games and lack of recovery times that players will get and highlighting his fears that “we will see injuries like never before”.

But Wenger, who now serves as Fifa’s chief of global football development, said that he feels the competition “is needed” in football.

When asked about Klopp’s comments, the 75-year-old said: “I am going to give a very boring answer to a very interesting question. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and I don't share the view of Jurgen Klopp at all.

"I feel a Club World Cup is needed. If you make enquiries to all the clubs who were here then 100 per cent of answers would be that they would want to do it again. That's the best answer of what the clubs think of a Club World Cup.

"And the decisive question is do the fans like it or not? We believe the attendances were projected as low and in reality were much higher. The answer is there."

Fan engagement and interest in the competition has been the subject of debate in recent weeks. Some matches have seen embarrassingly low attendance figures for some of the smaller clubs involved, though some fans – notably those of South American clubs – have travelled in vast numbers to support their teams in the USA.

More recent fixtures have also been played in temperatures reaching the mid-30s, with concerns over player welfare, the state of pitches and how this may all affect next year’s World Cup.

And speaking on what Fifa have learned from the competition, Wenger said that there will be more stadiums with roofs, while “TV times will be more sensitive”.

Jurgen Klopp described the Club World Cup as ‘the worst idea in football’ (PA Archive)

"The heat in some games was a problem but we tried to combat that with cooling breaks, watering the pitches during the break and overall I feel we learned a lot on that front," Wenger said.

"In two different venues [there was a problem], one of them was Orlando. But we shouldn't underestimate the quality of the permanent pitches.

"Certainly next year in stadiums there will also be more with roofs. At the same time, the weather conditions can be a problem for everybody.

"I asked our analysts to analyse the impact of the heat. We found heat of over 35C had an impact on high-speed running, so sprints, not distances. You have to be equipped to deal with it,” he added.

The Club World Cup final takes place this weekend in New Jersey, with MetLife Stadium – the venue for the World Cup final – hosting as Chelsea take on European Champions PSG.

The 2026 World Cup begins in less than a year, with the expanded tournament seeing games across the United States, Canada and Mexico between 11 June and 19 July 2026.