Stan Collymore: Club World Cup theatrics were unnecessary (Interview for NewBettingSites.uk)

Former Premier League striker Stan Collymore has told NewBettingSites.uk that he thought the opening ceremony theatrics at the Club World Cup were unnecessary and disagreed with the concept of individual player introductions, claiming they were only implemented to give Lionel Messi special recognition.

Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Collymore said: “I stayed up to watch the opening ceremony of the Club World Cup and I watched the whole of the game between Al Ahly and Inter Miami to get a flavour of the tournament.

“It’s in America and the World Cup will be in America next year, I’ve already booked my accommodation for that! I will go as a fan and it might be the last one I go to for a while because I’m unlikely to go to Saudi Arabia in 2030 as the 2022 tournament in Qatar wasn’t a great experience from a fan’s perspective.

“I’m looking at the Club World Cup to see what the Americans do with it. Will they make it an all-singing all-dancing show? We saw the first glimpse of that with players coming out one-by-one for the first game, just so Lionel Messi could get his own moment, which I thought was unnecessary. Just get the two teams on the pitch and start the game.

“I didn’t like the full pre-match show with different musicians and shows; football doesn’t need that to attract new fans. As for the matches themselves, we’ve already seen two 0-0 draws in Inter Miami’s group and Americans won’t like that because they don’t have draws in their sports. It seems like, after a long season, teams aren’t able to dig as deep to win games.”

PSG will win the tournament comfortably

Collymore is backing recent Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain to follow up their European triumph with victory at the Club World Cup, citing their wealth of youth, energy and momentum in the squad as key components for success at this summer’s tournament.

“A European team will end up winning the tournament because the teams from the other continents aren’t strong enough, even though there are some big names competing like Palmeiras and Flamengo,” he said. “Realistically you must be looking at the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

“The Bayern Munich game against Auckland City actually made me feel a bit uncomfortable. 10-0 isn’t a good scoreline in any sport and the fact FIFA couldn’t find it within themselves to fund some of the Auckland players’ week off work didn’t look great. If they qualify for the tournament and are part-time footballers then FIFA should be paying for their time off work and expenses.

“PSG are the ones to watch for me. They have the momentum of winning their first ever Champions League and they’ve got a young, fit squad. They tore Atletico Madrid apart who had a long, hard season in La Liga. Ligue 1 isn’t as tough and with the youth in their squad and the positivity around them now, they could win it comfortably in the end.”

Club World Cup won’t help City and Chelsea next season

Former Liverpool striker Collymore believes Manchester City and Chelsea’s participation at the Club World Cup will have a negative impact on their 2025/26 Premier League campaigns and may also lead to key players losing form and picking up injuries later in the season.

“Playing in this tournament won't help Manchester City or Chelsea in the Premier League next season,” said Collymore. “The Premier League is one of the hardest leagues in sport and all 38 games are fiercely competitive. If you can only give players two to three weeks off ahead of a new season and you can’t get a proper pre-season training programme into them, it makes life a lot harder.

“One way in which players are stupid is that instead of demanding a month off to rest and recover, they’ll just take five days off and come back and go straight back to training. They’re not giving themselves a proper break. Then come December or January their energy levels drop and they start to pick up injuries.

“City and Chelsea have big squads, don’t get me wrong, but their participation in the Club World Cup cannot help their 2025/26 Premier League season.”