“We must respect the health of the players”: Mbappé firmly opposed to a World Cup every two years

Another obstacle on the road to FIFA. Wishing to reduce the time between two World Cups from four to two years, the body must face increasingly pressing opposition. On Monday, Kylian Mbappé, in turn, spoke out against such a change on the sidelines of the Globe Soccer Awards, where he was awarded the trophy for player of the year. “We already play 60 matches a year. The Euro, the World Cup, the League of Nations … We like to play but it’s too much. We must be able to recover, take breaks. If people want quality , emotion, good matches, we must respect the health of the players “, estimated the striker of the Blues.

Beyond the physical aspect, it is also a question of symbol for the star of PSG. “The World Cup is a special event because it takes place every four years. Playing it every two years would make this competition normal, which it doesn’t have to be.”, hammered the player trained at AS Monaco. “It’s something amazing. It’s an event that you might only play once in your life.”, he added, calling not to desecrate the event.

Also present at the ceremony, Robert Lewandowski, second in the last Golden Ball, also opposed a biennial world. “If you want to give the fans something different, you have to take a break”, he argues. “If we want to play a World Cup every two years the level will go down. It is impossible for the body and the mind to perform at the same level”, underlines the Pole.

Supported for many months by FIFA, and its president Gianni Infantino, the idea of ​​a World Cup every two years is therefore gaining ground. In recent weeks, several federations and clubs had already expressed their disagreements. However, the international body intends to hold on, the financial stakes being considerable. Indeed, if this project were to materialize, FIFA would pocket more than 3.9 billion euros additional. A considerable windfall that Gianni Infantino intends to redistribute to member associations via a solidarity fund.