Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham top list of six stars who could be forced into SNUB England as shock request made

ENGLAND’s stars face being forced to choose between club or country in the growing row over FIFA’s controversial new £600m tournament.

SunSport last week revealed the growing anger among global league chiefs and players’ unions over the 32-team Club World Cup planned for next summer in the USA.

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Now top league bosses want this to be brought forward by two weeks in June to ensure a proper summer break – but that would conflict with FIFA World Cup qualifying.

So England captain Harry Kane and Three Lions teammates Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Jack Grealish would have to choose who to play for.

PFA boss Maheta Molango says Premier League players are ready to “pounce” if they are forced to take part in the renewed club competition against their will.

While lawyers representing the Association of World Leagues and international players’ union FifPro are drawing up legal proceedings to prevent the event from taking place as planned from June 15 to July 13.

The leagues have now contacted FIFA to suggest holding the four-week tournament – ​​which will feature Manchester City, Chelsea, Kane’s Bayern Munich and Bellingham’s Real Madrid – from June 1 to 29.

This would allow players a proper summer break ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. A league source insisted: “This is the only acceptable solution.

“Now it’s up to FIFA to make a decision. If they do what we ask, it will be up to the players to decide who they will play for.

“We have told FIFA that they have already set aside the first two weeks of June for international football, so this should be part of the Club World Cup window, not an addition to it.

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“It is a fact that the 2025-26 season will be even more condensed than normal.

“Because it has to end early, in mid-May, to allow the players time to prepare for the biggest and longest World Cup of all time.”

Prem chief executive Richard Masters is already making contingency plans.

They could see City and Chelsea MISS at the start of the 2025-26 season if they delve deeper into the tournament, which was launched as an eight-team winter event in 2000.

FifPro and the PFA say stars need a minimum three-week break included in all professional deals.

Asked whether strike was a possibility, PFA chief Molango said: “We have reached that point.

“I went to the changing rooms and the players told me: ‘I won’t allow it, we can also attack’”.

Former Arsenal head of elite performance Darren Burgess warned: “With the Club World Cup and international matches, Chelsea and City could play 86 games next season.”

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