UEFA's chief of football Zvonimir Boban said those in the game must fight FIFA's proposal to stage the World Cup every two years because if it succeeds it would "hurt everybody."
FIFA held an online summit last month to discuss moving World Cups from occurring every four years to every two, which has already been met by strong opposition within UEFA.
Former Milan and Croatia star Boban said the idea was "even worse than the Super League," which was foiled earlier this year by wide-ranging public backlash from fans and European clubs.
"Every normal person who understand and respect football, cannot accept the biennial World Cup idea," Boban said via Gazzetta dello Sport. "You would cancel 100 years of history of the World Cup, the best competition in the world.
"Football cannot be revolutionised unilaterally without a good consultation with all the parts involved and ordering other institutions to do other things: UEFA must organise Euro every two years, domestic league must cut the number of teams, this and that.
"The most absurd thing, even if probably clubs don’t realise it yet, is the two windows for international breaks. Three games in a row and a player is dead. Two games you can recover, three not. Travels don’t hurt footballers, too many games in a row do."
While several UEFA officials have spoken out against the plan, Boban's opposition is notable given his ties to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Boban worked as FIFA's Deputy Secretary-General from 2016 to 2019.
"It is such an absurdity that I could never imagine that could come from a president I still love after working with him for three years or from a football person like [Arsene] Wenger," he said. "This is idea is so crazy that we really have to fight against it because it would hurt everybody."
Boban said UEFA would never propose holding the Euros every two years, "even if it meant more money".
"It would be bad for players, leagues, clubs as well as for the appeal of competitions," he added. "It does not respect anybody. It would destroy football's institutions together with the footballing pyramid that was built thanks to decades of work."
Klopp confirms Liverpool intend to spend at the end of shaky season
Liverpool will be looking to spend at the end of the season as Jurgen Klopp plans to rebuild the faltering Premier League giants.
After finishing second on 92 points in the league and reaching three cup finals last season, winning two, the Merseysiders have fallen from grace in this campaign, currently in sixth place and out of all other competitions.
Liverpool have been linked with moves for Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham and Chelsea's Mason Mount among others, with the England pair anticipated to cost up to £200million between them.
Speaking ahead of his team's trip to Manchester City, Klopp was not willing to go into specifics, but did outline the club's intention to be active when the transfer market reopens at the end of the season.
"I will not answer the question [about potentially spending nine figures on one player] because we never speak about these kind of things," the Reds manager said.
"We will spend in the summer, that's what I can say, definitely. For who and how many and stuff like this, there is nothing to say about that really."
Klopp is in the process of trying to create his next team at Anfield, having brought in Ibrahima Konate, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo in the last two years, but with ageing stars – particularly in midfield – recognises the need for more work.
"It's clear after a specific amount of time that you need to shuffle things and kind of start anew. That is completely normal," he added.
"It's just rare nowadays that it happens with the same manager because people realise when you sack a manager and bring in a new manager, things change and you readjust the squad.
"After seven years it was clear that we have to do it. There is a moment when you have to make changes.
"We are not where we want to be, where we should be and where we have to be."
Rumour Has It: Arsenal, Man Utd and PSG headline Tchouameni suitors
Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are among the heavy hitters with reported interest in out-of-favour Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.
Tchouameni arrived in Madrid last July from Monaco for a €100million fee, but has started just 15 of 26 LaLiga fixtures this term, and played only a combined six minutes in their two-legged Champions League clash with Liverpool, whom he reportedly turned down to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
The defensive midfielder has found himself behind 20-year-old Eduardo Camavinga for Madrid's most crucial contests, also only making brief substitute appearances in both meetings with Barcelona in March.
Tchouameni, who has made 23 senior appearances and scored two international goals for France, still has plenty of time to turn himself into the impact player Madrid envisioned, but the club are reportedly weighing up if they could cash in and use the resources elsewhere.
TOP STORY – EUROPE'S ELITE KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON TCHOUAMENI
According to El Nacional, Madrid are not happy with such an expensive signing only being used sparingly in a rotation role, and will consider any bid in the next transfer window starting at €70m (£61.5m).
The report names Arsenal, United, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Chelsea as Tchouameni's "admirers", with the Premier League clubs in particular having all been in the market recently for help in central midfield.
Tchouameni could even cost less than breakout Brighton and Hove Albion star Moises Caicedo, and significantly less than Borussia Dortmund talent Jude Bellingham, adding another key name into the mix for midfielder-hungry clubs this offseason.
ROUND-UP
– According to Calciomercato, Liverpool are considering a move for Brighton's Caicedo if their pursuit of Bellingham is unsuccessful.
– Football Insider is reporting that Chelsea are hoping to receive £100m in return for midfield duo Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic in an effort to balance the books after lavish spending.
– Chelsea's Kai Havertz has interest in reuniting with former boss Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich, and that interest is mutual according to 90min.
– Fichajes is reporting that Roma may swoop for 32-year-old United goalkeeper David de Gea if he does not sign a new contract to stay in the Premier League.
– According to Mundo Deportivo, PSG have told Lionel Messi they will pay whatever is necessary to retain his services amid heavy interest from Barcelona and Inter Miami.
Icing on the cake – Al Nassr celebrate Ronaldo's record-setting Portugal cap
Al Nassr celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking Portugal appearance in style.
Given his impeccable commitment to athleticism, Ronaldo might not have dug into the cake he was presented with on Friday.
Al Nassr were celebrating the 38-year-old becoming the most-capped men's player of all time.
Ronaldo made his 197th appearance for Portugal on March 23, scoring twice in a 4-0 defeat of Liechtenstein.
Along with marking that achievement, Al Nassr also celebrated Abdulrahman Ghareeb's 25th birthday.
"Today, we celebrate a record and birthday," the club tweeted. "The record of most capped player in international football [and] the birthday of a talented Saudi player."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
