Diego Forlan is perfectly placed to provide insight on the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, having played for 10 clubs in nine countries across three continents during a stellar career.
The new 32-team tournament in the USA is close to having its full line-up confirmed, with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami taking slot 31 as representatives of the host nation following their MLS Supporters’ Shield success in 2024, and the remaining place held for the CONMEBOL Libertadores winners.
Former Uruguay international Forlan enjoyed a memorable, goal-laden stint with Atletico Madrid from 2007 to 2011, and he also featured for Inter Milan, Independiente, Manchester United, Villarreal, Internacional, Cerezo Osaka, Penarol, Mumbai City and Kitchee.
Atletico and Inter are two of 12 European clubs to qualify for the Club World Cup, on the back of their consistent performances in the UEFA Champions League over the past four seasons. And although Forlan feels teams from Europe will be tough to beat, he is confident there will be opportunities for other clubs to shine.
He said: “The advantage that these clubs have is that they are competing in their own leagues and competing on their continent at an international level, which means that they are prepared.
“Clearly, in these types of Club World Cups, the stronger leagues, such as the European ones, have a slight advantage over the rest. Why? Because of their economy, the opportunity to buy better players, which means their squads are a lot more competitive.
“However, it is still a Club World Cup, and after you get past the group stage you get to one-match knockout stages, where things are much tighter, especially in a sport like this one where the difference between the winner and the loser is often just one goal.”
But the Uruguay outfit have a mountain to climb if they are to claim the place available to the winners of the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores, following their shock 5-0 defeat at the hands of Botafogo in their semi-final first leg.
Speaking in the days prior to that setback, Forlan had admitted his excitement at the prospect of Penarol joining the global party. “It would be spectacular,” he said earlier this year. “To have the opportunity of being amongst the best teams from every continent would be amazing.
“And in this case, if Penarol had the opportunity of being a part of this Club World Cup, it would be because they won the Copa Libertadores, so it would make me even happier.”The new tournament format which will feature 63 games in total from the opener at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on 15 June to the final on 13 July at MetLife Stadium in New York New Jersey, also has Forlan’s seal of approval.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “It will be very entertaining.
“A lot of teams from different continents will have the possibility of playing in a Club World Cup for a month, and it’s an amazing motivation for everyone to have the chance to be here and compete against teams which you would struggle to face otherwise.
“You would only face them in friendlies, so to have the opportunity of facing them in an official context in this new Club World Cup, it’s very entertaining.”
Another of Forlan’s former clubs, Penarol, who the striker represented as a player from 2015 to 2016 before returning for a brief spell on the touchline as head coach in 2020, still have an outside chance of qualifying for the FIFA Club World Cup.
