Why are Liverpool not in the Club World Cup?

This is why the Premier League champions aren't playing

Liverpool are fresh off a Premier League title and a run to the quarter finals of the Champions League this season but they will not compete in the Club World Cup tournament.

Instead Manchester City, who were eliminated by Real Madrid a round earlier than Liverpool, and Chelsea, who did not even qualify for the Champions League this year, will compete in the newly formatted tournament in the USA.

They will take on the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Champions League finalists PSG and Inter, as well as teams from other confederations including Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and the best teams from South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.

The entire revamped tournament will be live streamed free on DAZN and fans can register to get access here.

The expanded tournament features 32 slots for teams and 12 of those are awarded to European teams that are part of UEFA. They are awarded to previous winners of the Champions League across the last four seasons, which means Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City are all included. 

Real Madrid beat Liverpool in one of those finals but runners up do not get a place in the Club World Cup. 

There are eight more European places for teams who have ranked highest in the Champions League over that period and while Liverpool would be one of these, the rules state only two clubs from each country can compete in the tournament.

It means Liverpool miss out because Manchester City and Chelsea have won the tournament. Inter, Bayern, Benfica, RB Salzburg and Juventus, Porto, Dortmund and Atletico Madrid all qualify.

Other teams such as Napoli, RB Leipzig, Barcelona and AC Milan also miss out because of the two teams per country rule this year.

Liverpool will be able to enter the next edition of the Club World Cup if they win the Champions League in the next four seasons or if they outperform English teams in Europe’s premier competition. 

The Club World Cup will kick off on 14 June and fans in the UK and Ireland can watch it completely free when they register at DAZN here.