Alan Shearer insists he will be “surprised” if one of Chelsea or Manchester City win the Club World Cup this summer.
The Blues kick-off their Club World Cup campaign on Monday night when they face Los Angeles FC. Enzo Maresca’s side will also face Flamengo and ES Tunis in Group D as they look to go all the way to the final on Sunday, July 13.
With the likes of PSG, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid among the 32 teams competing in the revamped tournament, Shearer does not believe Chelsea or Pep Guardiola’s Man City have what it takes to be crowned champions. Speaking to Betfair, Shearer said: “My guess is, it’ll be a tournament that’ll generate a lot more interest as it goes on.
“Man City wanted to get players in before they went over to it, Rodri may be playing a part in the next few weeks as well. He won’t be up to full speed so it’ll be interesting to see how Chelsea and Man City cope. The excitement will increase as the tournament goes on.
“I’d be surprised if Chelsea or Man City go all the way. It wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a South-American club, a country that’s midway through the season rather than a club that’s at the end of the season and had a couple of weeks off. That’s my take on it.
“It’ll be very difficult for these players because some of them have had a couple of weeks off. Some have been playing international football and if they go all the way, that’s another month of playing football so how they start the Premier League season in terms of those players, we’ll have to wait and see.
“These teams are in it because it’s something new, but the finance for these clubs is huge. It’s over £100million plus bonuses for whoever wins it. Let’s not kid ourselves, that’s why Man City and Chelsea are in it.
“It’ll be fascinating to see how Chelsea and Man City cope over the next two months. How they manage and handle the players, and whether they start the season in mid-August or have a few extra weeks off, we’ll have to wait and see. It’ll be really interesting to see how the players cope.”
