Man City & Chelsea to get early transfer window? FIFA makes massive proposal to allow Club World Cup teams to buy and sell players in June

According to The Athletic, a FIFA Council meeting approved a plan to give national associations the choice of an 'exceptional registration window' from June 1-10 - and would close five days before the start of the tournament. The report adds that if the English Football Association took up this option, the Premier League's two entrants (Chelsea and Manchester City) would be able to buy players for a tournament that is outside the regular summer transfer window period. This year's summer window ran from June 14-August 30. So if the rules had been in place then, the 32 sides in this competition would have had a big advantage over their rivals.

Teams like Chelsea, City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and more, would be at a huge advantage over other sides in Europe as they could recruit players who will be out of contract in 2025 - such as Liverpool trio Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Virgil van Dijk. The report adds that FIFA will also let teams replace players whose contracts expire at the Club World Cup by opening a 'restricted in-competition' window from June 27-July 3, 2025. Some players such as City's Kevin De Bruyne or Bayern's Alphonso Davies have deals that run until the end of June, for example.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will kick off a new era for club football across the world, with the top teams competing to be crowned the official FIFA club world champions. These regulations will ensure that the best possible conditions are in place in order for all 32 participating clubs and the best players in the world to shine at the highest level.”

The next edition of this altered tournament will take place in the United States between June 15-July 13, 2025. Pep Guardiola's City are the most recent winners of the competition, having triumphed back in 2023.