The France and Poland national team strikers gave their opinions about a biennial World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski have voiced concern over the physical toll a biennial World Cup could have on players.
FIFA has been investigating an idea to hold a men’s and women’s World Cup every two years, instead of the traditional four-year wait between tournaments, in an attempt to revamp the football calendar.
The European and South American Football Confederations, UEFA and CONMEBOL, have opposed the proposal. However, CAF, the African governing body, has backed it.
FIFA claimed last week that the additional tournaments would generate an extra £3.3 billion in revenue every four years.
23 years old. Multi lingual, multi talented. One of the best in the world and already a World Champion. Smart kid. pic.twitter.com/0a75u2fwOC
— ANDRES CANTOR (@AndresCantorGOL) December 27, 2021
Mbappe reveals what he thinks of the plan
Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards on Monday, alongside Lewandowski, Mbappe expressed his concern about the proposal.
“The World Cup is the World Cup,” said the Paris Saint-Germain forward, who won the competition with France in 2018.
“It’s a special thing because it’s something [held] every four years.”
He added: “If you hold it every two years, it can start to be normal to play [in the] World Cup. I want to say that’s not normal. That [should be] something amazing.
“We play over 60 games in a year. You have Euros, the World Cup, now the Nations League – so many competitions. We are happy to play but when it’s too much, it’s too much. We have to recover, we have to stay relaxed.
“If people want to see quality in the game, the emotion, to see what makes the beauty of football, I think we have to respect the health of players.”
Lewandowski echoes similar concerns
The Bayern Munich striker chipped in: “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.
“If you want to offer something special, something different, we also need a break.
“If we have a it every two years, the expectation is the time where footballers play at a high level will go down … It is physically and mentally impossible.
Great evening in #Dubai😎 @Globe_Soccer pic.twitter.com/kxkJAWNL7l
— Robert Lewandowski (@lewy_official) December 27, 2021
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