Fifa president Gianni Infantino says the Club World Cup is “already the most successful club competition in the world”, despite widespread criticism of the tournament.
Infantino, who has led world football’s governing body since 2016, claims the competition has generated more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in revenue, which he says is worth “$33m (£24m) per match”.
As a result, he believes the tournament has been a “huge success”, adding “the golden era of global club football has started”.
Infantino’s words come just weeks after former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the Club World Cup, which this year moved to the summer and expanded to 32 teams, was “the worst idea ever implemented in football”.
Many matches have been poorly attended, with more than a million empty seats during the tournament, while players like Jude Bellingham, Reece James and Enzo Fernandez have criticised the weather conditions and quality of the pitches in the United States.
Chelsea midfielder Fernandez said the heat was “very dangerous”, while his manager Enzo Maresca complained it is “impossible” to have a normal training session.
Speaking at Trump Tower in New York on the eve of Sunday’s final between Chelsea and Paris St-Germain (20:00 BST), Infantino said: “The golden era of global club football has started.
“We can say definitely that this Fifa Club World Cup has been a huge, huge, huge success. Of course, there are a lot of positives, some negatives.
“We respect everyone’s opinion. It has been successful. We have had over 2.5 million in the stadium. That’s around 40,000 spectators per match – there is no league in the world with that number, except the Premier League which, of course, has home teams and these are neutral stadiums.
“We heard financially it would not work but I can say we generated over $2bn in revenues with this competition. We earned on average $33m per match. There is no other cup competition in the world that comes close to $33m per match.
“It is already the most successful club competition in the world with all different measurements.”
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