Jamie Carragher has brought up the question of whether the FIFA Club World Cup is worthy again after openly questioning Chelsea’s most recent trophy. The ex-Liverpool defender didn’t hold back, saying that the tournament can’t name a real “world champion” because it doesn’t include some of the best clubs in the world.
The Club World Cup is a tournament where the winners of each continental confederation’s top club competition play against each other. However, Carragher says that the format doesn’t really allow for true competition. He says the title isn’t worth as much because Barcelona, Liverpool, and Napoli —the current champions of Spain, England, and Italy — are not there.
Carragher said on The Overlap:
“It’s not a proper competition, how can you be Champions of the World if the Champions of England, Spain and Italy weren’t even in it.”
His comment comes just weeks after Chelsea won the trophy, adding another piece of silverware to their collection under manager Enzo Maresca.
The win was still a big deal for Chelsea. It was their first Club World Cup win since 2022, and it came after they won the UEFA Conference League earlier in the season. This has been the most successful season for the Todd Boehly-led ownership group so far.
Carragher Seems to Dismiss Chelsea’s Growth
Carragher, on the other hand, is still not sure that these trophies show real progress towards being the best team in the Premier League. It seems that he doesn’t believe in Chelsea’s overall plan for building a team. The former Liverpool defender thinks the team still doesn’t have the quality and depth it needs to compete at the very top of English football.
Carragher seems to think that winning trophies from competitions he thinks are less challenging won’t hide the problems that are still there. However, the Blues will look to prove their doubters wrong this season.