CWC ex-European stars GFXGetty/GOAL

Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos & the top 10 former stars of European football to watch at the 2025 Club World Cup

The European football season has now ended, but there will still be a feast of big matches for fans to enjoy this summer as attention shifts to the expanded Club World Cup. Previously a seven-team competition, the new edition features 32 teams from football's six confederations split into eight groups of four, with the top two advancing to the last 16, which begins a straight knockout format through to the final.

To add even greater weight, the Club World Cup will now be played once every four years instead of annually, with the winners set to receive a staggering $125 million (£92m) cash prize. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has even claimed the event "will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football", and with the United States serving as the first hosts of the rebooted tournament, it should be quite the spectacle.

There will certainly be no shortage of talent on show, with Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain competing for more glory alongside the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Inter and Juventus. Many former stars of European football will also be strutting their stuff, and GOAL has ranked the top 10 to watch ahead of kick-off on June 14...

Article continues below