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Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said in an Italian newspaper interview on Monday that the newly crowned European champions will refuse to play in the expanded Club World Cup next year.
“Players and clubs will not participate in that tournament,” Ancelotti told Italian newspaper Il Giornale.
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“A single Real Madrid match is worth 20 million euros and FIFA wants to give us this amount for the entire Cup. So no. Like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation,” the Italian coach added.
The expanded 32-team Club World Cup is proposed to take place next summer, adding to an already congested calendar for players.
England’s Professional Footballers’ Association has warned FIFA that players could go on strike.
