Barcelona captain criticises FIFA over Club World Cup – ‘They never asked the players…’ | OneFootball

The FIFA Club World Cup, currently underway in the United States of America, has attracted a lot of criticism for a multitude of reasons.

Starting with the timing of the tournament and the physical toll it takes on players to poor organisation, there have been a lot of issues at the event.

Barcelona winger Raphinha critical of Club World Cup

Barcelona winger and captain Raphinha, who has been outspoken on the players’ welfare and mental health, has now come out to criticise the Club World Cup and FIFA for the way the tournament has been organised.

“It is very difficult to give up holidays to play something that we are forced to play. Many of the Club World Cup participants will have no holidays, it’s unacceptable. Three weeks’ holiday is sacred,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

The Barcelona forward stressed the importance of physical and mental recovery after a long season. He also aimed direct criticism at FIFA, the tournament’s organiser, for not taking input from players.

Raphinha has criticised the Club World Cup. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

“They never asked the players if they wanted to go or what the ideal dates were,” he said.

Barcelona missed out on qualification for the Club World Cup due to the drop in their FIFA co-efficient rankings. Their rivals Real Madrid have made it to the quarterfinals of the competition while Atletico Madrid faced an early elimination.

Meanwhile, Raphinha is currently in Brazil enjoying his holidays after a demanding season, which ended with three trophies for Barcelona.

The Brazilian winger was last seen in action for his national team on 10 June in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Paraguay.

Since then, he has been taking a well-deserved break until the start of Barça’s pre-season. Players are scheduled to report to Hansi Flick on 13 July at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.