PSG star Kylian Mbappe has suggested that a potential format switch to a biennial World Cup would make the showpiece tournament less special
France and PSG star Kylian Mbappe has embarrassed FIFA by slamming its plans to stage a World Cup every two years instead of the current four-year format.
Rising to global fame following his 2018 World Cup win with France in Russia, where he scored four goals including in the final against Croatia, Mbappe was asked for his thoughts on the tournament being held every two years.
“I’m nobody to say if it’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Mbappe said at the Global Soccer Awards, where he scooped the Best Men’s Player of The Year gong.
“But I [can] give my opinion and my opinion is that the World Cup is the World Cup. It’s a special thing because it’s something [that takes place] every four years.
“If you want to keep that [specialness]… you saw that I talk about it, [that] people talk about it like the best competition in the world. If you have it every two years, it can start to be normal to play a World Cup.
“And I want to say that that’s not normal. It’s something amazing that maybe you play one time in your life.”
//www.instagram.com/p/CX_4jK8szqx
Mbappe said he also agreed with Robert Lewandowski, who has raised concerns about levels of performance in a packed calendar.
“We have so many games every year, so many tough weeks. Not only the games but preparation for the season, preparation for the big tournaments,” the Bayern Munich and Poland striker said earlier.
“If you want to offer something special, something different, we also need a break.
“We have to look ahead, if we want to play a World Cup every two years, the level will drop. It’s impossible for the body and mind to perform at the same level.”
Mbappe speaks out against Infantino’s plans for World Cups every two years pic.twitter.com/dNpPNLy0ws
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) December 27, 2021
“We already play like 60 games a year,” Mbappe added.
“You have the Euros, you have the World Cup, you have now the Nations League, you have so many competitions.
“We are happy to play,” he stressed. “But when it’s too much, it’s too much.
“We have to recover, we have to relax. If people want to have quality in the game, or [if] people just want to [have] some games to [watch] on TV, of course, we’re gonna play.
“But if they want to see quality games to see emotion, to see these types of things… that makes the beauty of football too. I think we have to respect the health of the players,” Mbappe concluded.
//www.instagram.com/p/Bz7zQidiyDx
Mbappe’s remarks go against claims made by compatriot Arsene Wenger.
The former Arsenal manager, as FIFA’s global head of football development, has stated that the “younger generation wants to be entertained much more” and would therefore back a biannual World Cup.
FIFA has released research claiming that the majority of fans want to see a more frequent World Cup than the current quadrennial format, also trumpeting the supposed economic benefits.
In Mbappe, however, a 23-year-old has gone on record giving a list of reasons as to why that would be a bad idea to implement.
https://ift.tt/2hpq7SJ 28, 2021 at 04:30PM
from RT – Daily news