Izuchukwu Okosi
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will begin Sunday, June 15, with 63 games on offer.
Top clubs like Real Madrid, Man City, Juventus, Barcelona, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Al Ahly and Al Hilal will be in action in the USA.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAs Prime Business Africa gets set to follow all the actions of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, today we start our coverage by looking at the four stars of the game that have a point or the other to prove to their critics with expected splendid performances anticipated.
1. Luka Modric
The Croatia and Real Madrid maestro is running down his contract at the Bernabeu but the 15-time European champions have since announced that the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner will be departing the club.
The Spanish giants failed to hand him a new deal – at least a one-year contract extension despite the willingness from the player’s camp to renew on a short-term deal.
The 38-year-old would however be making his last appearances for Real Madrid at the FIFA Club World Cup in the USA and will be hard pressed to make a massive impression.
Though Modric id getting suitors in the form of AC Milan, the former Tottenham Hotspur star who has bought a stake at Leeds United, would want to prove to Real Madrid that age is just a number.
READ ALSO: Transfer Window: Club World Cup Teams Get FIFA’s Special Offer
2. Bernado Silva
Portuguese midfielder Bernado Silva is another star of the global game that has a thing to say about players in the latter stages of their careers being scorned.
The Manchester City star was inundated by interview questions during the 2024/2025 season when the deposed champions of the Premier League floundered.
City had won the title four times on the trot and the aging team was one of the reasons given by cynics why Pep Guardiola and his bunch of world class players were underperforming.
Silva repeatedly stated that few months prior to the bad spell, City had edged Arsenal and other rivals to the league title with the same aging players.
So as the team’s participating at the Club World Cup descend in the USA, Silva is ready to pull off a great performance along with teammates to show doubters that they still remain a force in England, and European football.
3. Lionel Messi
Still on the same theme of players in the north of 30s, 38-year-old Lionel Messi, arguably the biggest talent of this generation is out again to show why he is perhaps even the best in the history of the game itself.
Messi’s MLS side, Inter Miami is said to have been included in the competition as Messi’s presence would aid in the commercial success of the tournament.
That fact is undeniable. The sales of merchandise, stadium tickets, the leap in hotel bookings, media hype and travels (air and rail especially) will be massive all thanks to Messi.
But beyond all that, Messi is keen to prove that despite leaving the European football scene, he is still the ‘greatest‘ in the round leather game.
Of late, the Argentine has not lived up to billing for his club when fit. The performances has been underwhelming but he is our there to show why he could done in the same table with the footballing icons like Diego Maradona , Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and co .
4. Cole Palmer
The Chelsea star was rested in most of the Blues’ UEFA Conference League games until the latter and crucial stages.
The FIFA Club World Cup was one of the reasons head coach Enzo Maresca took the decision and it is time to step up and show that he is now a world class star and not just another prospect.
The England international had been given the jersey number 10 ahead of the tournament and the start of next season following the drug issues that Mykhailo Mudryk is dealing with.
Palmer had in a recent interview with Sky Sports, name-checked Lamine Yamal as one of the best footballing talents in the world.
The 23-year-old Palmer would be inspired to prove that the the feats of the younger Lamine Yamal is achievable if not overtaken.
The die is cast. All eyes are in these players and more as the revamped tournament begins.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
