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

Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez could come up against 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 spot in the tournament will be awarded to the winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores.

Matches will be played across eight venues in the US – including at Inter Miami’s Hard Rock stadium – with the final to take place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Fifa’s decision to expand the competition has drawn criticism from clubs and players, particularly after Uefa expanded the Champions League and Europa League group stages to include two further matches.

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

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

The full Club World Cup draw will be made in December.