FIFA has made a suggestion that could change everything for clubs in the Club World Cup: teams could start signing players two weeks earlier than normal.
The Athletic reported that at a recent FIFA Council meeting, a plan was agreed to let national associations hold a “exceptional registration window” from June 1 to 10, which is only five days before the Club World Cup starts. If the English FA takes this chance, big teams in the Premier League like Chelsea and Manchester City will be able to buy players early, before the normal summer transfer market opens.
Right now, the normal summer move time is from June 14 to August 30. All 32 teams in the Club World Cup would have had a big edge over their European opponents if this rule had been in place during the last season.
A big edge for the best teams
For big teams like Chelsea, City, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid, this early transfer window could be a huge plus. With this early start, they could sign players whose contracts end in 2025, which could help them get players like Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Virgil van Dijk, who are all on loan from Liverpool.
Between June 27 and July 3, 2025, FIFA will allow teams to swap players whose contracts end during the Club World Cup. This is called a “restricted in-competition” window. Such deals could be made for players whose contracts are up in June, like City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Bayern’s Alphonso Davies.
