Enzo Maresca says he is prepared to rest Chelsea players during Club World Cup
Enzo Maresca could leave out senior players at the upcoming Club World Cup if they show signs of fatigue as the Chelsea head coach claimed 'no-one cares about player welfare'.
The Blues play their first match at FIFA's revamped tournament on June 16 in Atlanta, three weeks after the conclusion of the Premier League season and 18 days after facing Real Betis in the Conference League final in Wroclaw.
Advertisement
Five of Maresca's side have been named in England manager Thomas Tuchel's squad for the games against Andorra on June 7 and Senegal on June 10, leaving only six days for those involved to prepare for the team's opening match against an as-yet unknown opponent.
The final day. 🔜
pic.twitter.com/eWnmraOg6t
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
May 22, 2025
Should Chelsea reach the final on July 13, their 2024-25 season will not conclude until five weeks before the new Premier League campaign kicks off.
'The problem is that we have a game Sunday and Wednesday, a European final,' said Maresca, who confirmed he did not speak with Tuchel about leaving out Chelsea players.
'No-one cares about that. No one cares about player welfare.
Advertisement
'If they're going to be tired (in the US), they're not going to play. How can you manage that? It's simply like that.
'I don't think there's any attention paid to (if) players are healthy or these kind of things. It's not normal the amount of games they play.'
Of the players called up for England, Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke have played in 44 and 39 games respectively this season, while Levi Colwill has played 36 times including 34 Premier League starts.
Reece James has played fewer matches as the club manages his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury and Trevoh Chalobah – who has earned a first international call-up – has played 18 times for Chelsea after making 14 appearances on loan at Crystal Palace during the first half of the campaign.
Advertisement
Congratulations, Trevoh! 💙
pic.twitter.com/TNYB0zygri
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
May 23, 2025
Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo could play twice each for Argentina and Ecuador in World Cup qualifying in June, while Malo Gusto has been called up to France's squad
The schedule means Maresca may have to effectively forego a pre-season ahead of the next campaign in order to give players time off after the Club World Cup.
'For me it's not normal and it's not correct,' he said. 'I can understand that people are thinking 'they earn (a lot of) money,' but it's not about money, it's about health, it's about protecting players.
'My feeling is because of the amount of games they play, I don't think they (FIFA) pay attention.'
Advertisement
Maresca admitted the pressure on his side to qualify for the Champions League is greater than it will be on Nottingham Forest when the teams meet at the City Ground on Sunday.
A win for Chelsea will secure a top-five finish, although Forest's own hopes are still alive if they can beat the Blues and other results go their way.
'At this stage of the season I think the pressure is for all the clubs that are involved,' said Maresca. 'It's also (pressure) for (Forest).
Asked whether the expectation weighs heavier on Chelsea, he said: 'Probably yes.'
Advertisement
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
12 minutes ago
- The Sun
Dazn unveil brilliant Club World Cup promo video with legendary boxing announcer drafted in to ring bell on tournament
ERLING HAALAND, Harry Kane and Luis Suarez and are set to square off at the Club World Cup. And Dazn 's latest trailer for the reformatted event brings that essence to life. 8 8 8 8 8 The advert takes inspiration from Dazn's other major sporting partnership in boxing by having the stars lace up their gloves ready for battle. Manchester City 's resident "Hitman" Haaland is seen having his gloves taped up at the start of the video. He is followed by former Manchester United forward Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan is seen with a cape draped over his shoulders in the colours of his current team, Boca Juniors, which also has the text "El Matador" on the back. Bayern Munich and England captain Kane, nicknamed the "Hurrikane" for the trailer, is also seen getting his gloves done up ahead of a "ring walk". The iconic voice of boxing announcer Michael Buffer is then heard echoing over the video, set to the tune of Eric B. & Rakim's track "Don't Sweat the Technique". Inter Miami bad boy Luis Suarez is then seen with a pink hood over his head. The music then kicks into overdrive as Haaland is seen using skipping ropes, Cavani shedding his cape, Suarez showing off a mouth guard, with Buffer then announcing the World Cup to a stadium of fans. Kane is seen walking into the raucous ground in a red hoodie, with Haaland seen in a sky blue matching fit. The trailer also teases Dazn's lead presenter for the tournament as Diletta Leotta is seen standing in front of an advertising board. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will see the World's best players decide which club is the greatest We then cut away to a helicopter hovering over a stadium filled to the brim with fans as the night lights on it shine like a beacon in the night. Kane and Co then enter the stadium to the roar of an expecting crowd as Haaland is seen signing a ball for a fan. The remarkable Club World Cup trophy is briefly shown, before Suarez is seen roaring and Cavani pointing up to the sky. The video ends with Kane and Haaland facing off in a ring, which then abruptly cuts to the kick-off of a football match. This year the Club World Cup will begin on June 14 and run through to Sunday July 13. The 32-team tournament will be played out across 12 venues in 11 cities across the United States. Pete Oliver, CEO of Growth Markets at DAZN, said: 'We're excited to partner with FIFA for this historical event, where throughout June and July and across the globe, fans will tune in on DAZN for the first time in history to see one club crowned the undisputed champion of the world." All 63 games of the competition will be available to watch on Dazn. Download the DAZN App here: and watch every game of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 for free. 8 8 8
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wirtz and Kerkez next? Why Liverpool are spending big
It was an extremely quiet transfer window for Liverpool last summer, with Federico Chiesa the only immediate signing that was despite the lack of additions, the Reds cruised to the Premier League title in Arne Slot's first season in time, however, they are doing things differently. Liverpool have already brought in Netherlands international Jeremie Frimpong for £29.5m, are closing in on his Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Florian Wirtz for a fee in the region of a club record £109m and are in talks to sign Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez for between £45m and £ also likely to be further incomings and outgoings to come. Why are the champions opting to spend big? After seeing his side close out their title-winning campaign with a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at Anfield, Slot reflected on the club's lack of transfer business last arrived late in the window and while the Reds did also agree a deal to sign Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, he stayed with the Spanish side until this summer."We did things differently," he said. "Apart from signing Federico Chiesa we didn't do a lot so that makes it maybe even more special."If the lack of transfer activity made for a "special" title win, why the change of tack?"It will be just as tough or even tougher next season because the clubs we've competed with this season have always in every window invested a lot of money and they will probably do so this summer as well," Slot added."We just want good players. Ideally you sign them as soon as you can but it is not always easy."The arrival of Wirtz would take Liverpool's spending to £138.5m already, with a mini-transfer window having opened earlier than usual because of the Club World Cup."Liverpool have been outside of the top 10 spenders on player signings since 2019, but their model is a classic case of being smarter rather than bigger," says football finance expert Kieran Maguire."They certainly have the capacity to spend £200m but whether that fits with their model is another matter."This is also a first proper summer transfer window for sporting director Richard Hughes, who joined the Reds in March last that time his immediate task was identifying and appointing Jurgen Klopp's successor but his full focus now, with more than a year to prepare, has been on player recruitment. What other positions will be strengthened? Given how much the Reds have spent already, there is every chance they will spend the £200m Maguire mentions, with several positions still being targeted as areas to moved quickly to address the departure of full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold with the signing of Frimpong, who can play anywhere down the right-hand meanwhile, is seen as a key acquisition for Slot, which is why Liverpool are prepared to pay a club-record transfer fee for City - Liverpool's likely main challengers for the title next season - had also been interested in the Germany international, having viewed him as a successor to Kevin de Pep Guardiola's side were ultimately put off by the potential cost of the deal, leaving Liverpool to press on. Left-back is also an area Slot wants to strengthen with Milos Kerkez - who plays for Hughes' former club Bournemouth - a key agreement has yet been reached between Liverpool and Bournemouth, but the Reds have stepped up their efforts to sign him over the last couple of days. Hughes was Bournemouth's sporting director when Kerkez moved to the South Coast from AZ Alkmaar in Hungary defender dropped a small hint over his future on Instagram recently, posting: "I don't know what will happen in the next week but Cherries family thank you!"Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy told BBC Sport: "Kerkez from Bournemouth is a really good option. He's quick, he's got good feet, likes defending one-on-one. He is very tenacious, great energy, and is only 21. "It fits the criteria of Liverpool's recruitment team measured by ability to progress and become more of an asset. I think that's quite likely to happen."The left-back ranks second for most distanced covered of all Premier League full-backs this season (behind only Fulham's Antonee Robinson) and third for most has made the third-most open play crosses in the Premier League and has eight goal involvements this campaign (two goals and six assists).His arrival would raise questions about the future of Andy Robertson and Konstantinos Tsimikas, with the Reds unlikely to need all three left-backs next would be the expected departure but, with Champions League interest in Robertson, his exit instead is a were also one of a number of Premier League clubs interested in Bournemouth's Dean Huijsen before his move to Real Madrid was confirmed, so a centre-back may also be on the radar, particularly as Ibrahima Konate is into the final year of his contract with no news on a new agreement.A new striker could also be pursued, although that will likely be dependent on outgoings in that position. On that matter... Who could depart in summer of change? Slot could be tempted to refresh his attack and both Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez have been linked with moves joined the Reds in 2022 but enjoyed his best goalscoring form under Slot with 17 in all competitions including 13 in the Premier potential summer moves to either Barcelona or Saudi Arabia have been touted, and speculation over his future has only increased after Diaz and his girlfriend both wrote lengthy posts on social media to Liverpool fans that could be interpreted as farewell Nunez has struggled to start regularly under Slot, who has also made public criticisms of his has had three full seasons at Liverpool since completing a move worth up to £85m from Benfica - and while his effort is praised by Liverpool fans, he has struggled to score consistently."It's time for a freshen up in attack," added Murphy. "I think Darwin has had a lot of chances. If you just simplify it to what we've seen in terms of his contribution and minutes played, Slot obviously doesn't fancy him."Slot has played a winger, Luis Diaz, ahead of him as a striker at times. That tells you everything you need to know."I would be amazed if Darwin stayed. I think the writing is on the wall for him."Another player whose future is unclear is Harvey Elliott. The midfielder made 18 Premier League appearances for the Reds last season but started just two games and recently suggested his future is uncertain by saying "you never know what's going to happen".Goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has already departed the Reds to join Brentford, and a busy summer of incomings and outgoings is set to continue for a while longer yet.
BBC News
41 minutes ago
- BBC News
New deal for Neil is fully deserved
The news that Alex Neil has signed a new contract with Millwall is a very welcome new deal is, of course, totally Neil arrived at John Berylson Way at the turn of the year, the Lions were looking over their shoulders, trying to fend off the drop his achievement in getting us so close to play-off football, especially with the injury list that we were carrying, AND to do it playing good, committed and attack-minded football was little short of has historically performed well under Scottish managers, and Lions fans have certainly warmed to Neil's honest and plain-speaking style.A big summer of squad development lies ahead, but today's cementing of the head coach position is a major step forward for the forthcoming 2025-26 of us can't wait for it to more from Nick Hart on Achtung! Millwall., external
