Club World Cup 2025: 5 football superstars who will miss the tournament in USA

FIFA’s inaugural expanded Club World Cup in the United States has $1 billion of prize money on the line but will be missing some of the game’s star names. Here are five players who will not be lighting up stadiums across the US once it gets underway this weekend:

MOHAMED SALAH
Liverpool finished as English champions, but like Spain’s Barcelona and Italy’s Napoli, will not be at the Club World Cup, because of the convoluted qualification process. That means Egyptian winger Salah, who broke the Premier League record for goal involvements, with 29 strikes and 18 assists, misses out. After a tiring season in which he faded in the latter months Salah might not be too upset about having a summer off. The winger posted a photo of himself sunbathing by the beach on Instagram. However it will be a shame that African football icon Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and others miss out on the chance of a potential rematch against their Champions League conquerors PSG.

LAMINE YAMAL

No player in world football this season has offered more excitement than Barcelona’s 17-year-old star Lamine Yamal. The Spain winger has been in sensational form this season and is one of the candidates to win the Ballon d’Or. Yamal’s thrilling dribbling and penchant for the spectacular make him one of the biggest draws in world football at the moment. He is often compared to former Barcelona great Lionel Messi, but because of the Spanish champions’ absence, may have missed out on his only chance to face the Argentina star, who will be there with Inter Miami.

CRISTIANO RONALDO
Messi will also not go up against his long-time rival Ronaldo. The Portuguese striker, 40, was reported to be looking for a way to play in the tournament. FIFA presid e n t G i a n n i Infantino had s u g g e s t e d Ronaldo might m o ve f r o m Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr to a team who had reached the event, saying that “discussions” were being held over it. Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, who won the Nations League with Portugal last weekend, indicated after the game, however, he was set to stay at Al Nassr.

NEYMAR
Brazilian icon Neymar struggled with injury at Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia and returned to Santos in January 2025, hoping to get fit and firing ahead of next summer’s World Cup. The 33-year-old forward, despite fading with age, is still one of the biggest names in the game and his absence is also a blow in a commercial sense. With organisers struggling to sell tickets, Neymar’s presence would have been a boon.

BUKAYO SAKA
Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal are another team to miss out and after finishing the season trophyless, the Club World Cup would’ve been a chance to win some silverware. England international Saka’s only club trophy, excluding the FA Community Shield, was an FA Cup win with Arsenal in 2020. For a player of his quality, who has spent six seasons playing regularly at the top level, Saka could do with expanding his medal collection. Arsenal will be disappointed to miss out on the prize money too, as they try to overhaul Liverpool and Manchester City, who have dominated the English game in recent seasons.