Club World Cup: Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami is named MLS participant in the 32-team tournament

Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez could face Chelsea and Manchester City, who have already qualified for the tournament.

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto and Benfica are other representatives from Europe.

The 32nd place in the tournament goes to the winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores.

The games will be played at eight venues across the US – including Inter Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium – with the final taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

FIFA’s decision to expand the competition has drawn criticism from clubs and players, particularly after UEFA added two more games to the group stages of the Champions League and Europa League.

Global players’ union Fifpro and the European Leagues organization, which represents 39 leagues and 1,130 clubs in 33 countries, filed a joint complaint with the European Commission in July to protest against FIFA’s “abuse of dominance” in football.

The last edition of the tournament in 2023 was played between seven teams from six confederations, with Manchester City winning the cup.

The full Club World Cup draw will take place in December.