Kevin De Bruyne says he doesn't think a World Cup every two years would be a bad idea, as long as a period of rest was factored in for the international players.
(This article was originally published on 13.11.2021)
De Bruyne is currently with the Belgium squad as they look to secure their place at the 2022 World Cup.
The Belgians just need to beat Estonia at home on Saturday to make sure of qualification for next year’s event in Qatar and games of this level of importance may become a more regular occurrence if plans to change the scheduling of the World Cup come to fruition.
Arsene Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development, has proposed staging the tournament every two years, an idea that his split opinion in the footballing world.
Uefa, the Premier League and the majority of European leagues have all come out in opposition to the plan, while football federations in South America, Asia and Africa have voiced their support.
De Bruyne has now revealed he's spoken to former Arsenal boss Wenger about the divisive plan and says he wouldn't be against it, as long as certain conditions were met.
KDB keeps an open mind
"At the start of the season, I had a meeting with FIFA and Arsene Wenger to explain to us what they wanted to do," De Bruyne told news agency Belga.
"To do something like that, federations of all countries, UEFA and FIFA have to coordinate. Everyone has to work together.
"I insisted on a second point: I told them that they had to keep a real period of rest for us, the players, at the end of the season.
"The idea isn't bad in itself, as long as everyone works together."
