Real Madrid and other European clubs are set to miss their key players midway through the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup due to expired contracts.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will kick off from Sunday, June 15, 2025, to Sunday, July 13, 2025. Away from the criticisms that have engulfed its formation and planned commencement, the competition is now facing another dilemma.
Generally, top European leagues fashion their domestic league competitions to allow Football Clubs settle contract issues with their players before and after each football campaign.
Continental club competitions are also staged and arranged similarly. Hence, players’ contracts usually run on either a short-term or full-year cycle from June of every calendar year.
Now, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is likely to distort the arrangement and force clubs into unfamiliar positions.
This is because the one-month tournament, slated to run from June to July 2025, will see players run out of their contracts midway into the tournament. Most European footballers have June 31st as the official expiry date for their contracts.
This implies Football Clubs will be forced to either devise a make-shift contract arrangement to keep the players for a few days through the tournament or revise dates for the expiration of contracts.
Note that before the tournament is wrapped up on July 13, some players must have been out of their contracts for the 13 days into July.
How footballers are reacting to the dilemma
According to The Telegraph, many footballers who will be affected by the new development have asked for clarity over the status of their contract while playing in the tournament.
Specifically, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup schedule will be a big blow to footballers who have decided to end their spell with their respective clubs when their contract expires on June 31, 2025. They will either be compelled to sign a new extension or kicked out of the tournament.
Another contradiction of the competition is the fact that some players could be made to play for two clubs in the tournament going by the current transfer plan. For instance, a player who leaves a club in June and signs for another club in July will become a player for two different clubs playing in the same competition in the same year.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and other football clubs likely to be affected by 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Schedule
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have both qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. They are leading the list of clubs likely to be affected by the aforementioned dilemma. For Real Madrid, the likes of Luka Modric, Dani Carvajal, and Lucas Vazquez will be out of their current contracts on June 31, 2025. They have to negotiate extensions to play for the club throughout the competition.
Bayern Munich are also facing the same issue with the likes of Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Eric Dier, Joshua Kimmich, and Alphonso Davies set to run out of their contracts by then.
Particularly, Alphonso Davies has refused to renew his Bayern Munich contract, hoping to join Real Madrid as a free agent in the summer. This means he could end up playing for both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the competition.
In England, Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will have his contract expire during the tournament.
What is next for the affected players?
FIFA have remained inflexible on their decision to kick off the competition as scheduled. This implies there are no waivers for footballers to sort out their futures with their respective clubs ahead of the tournament. The suggestions are that they will sign short-term six-month extensions and sort out their future in the January transfer window or end their participation in the tournament when their contract expires.
