PREM stars are ready to STRIKE if they are forced to play in Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup.
SunSport revealed yesterday top-flight chiefs and the PFA were united in their condemnation of the new 32-team tournament starting in the summer of 2025.
And Prem players have let it be known that they are willing to go on strike in protest at the increased workload with one claiming: “I’m a millionaire but I don’t have time to spend the money.”
PFA chief executive Maheta Molango made the astonishing threat as major leagues and player representatives officially joined forces against Fifa ad the Club World Cup.
Chelsea and Manchester City have qualified for the enlarged competition, set to be worth a stunning £600million in prize money and held in the USA over four weeks from mid-June.
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That has forced Prem chief executive Richard Masters to make a contingency plan which will see the two clubs MISS the start of the 2025-26 season if they go deep into the new tournament.
International players’ union FifPro and the PFA say stars need a minimum three-week break written into all pro deals.
Asked if strike action was possible, PFA boss Molango said: “We have maybe reached that point.
“When you get to the dressing room, the players are talking about this.
“Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have said it.
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“I have gone to dressing rooms and the players have told me, ‘I’m not having it, we may as well strike’.
“They say ‘yes, I’m a millionaire but I don’t have time to spend the money. So what is the point?’.”
Masters is confident industrial action will not hit the Prem.
But Molango also suggested more players may consider going to Saudi Arabia — for cash — or the MLS for “lifestyle” reasons.
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Masters, speaking at the crunch Player Workload and Recovery conference in the City of London, conceded: “Players and leagues should have a bigger say and the Club World Cup will have a direct impact on our League.”
Arsenal’s former head of elite performance, Darren Burgess, warned: “With the Club World Cup and international matches, Chelsea and City players could play 86 matches next season.”
