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Man City slice of Club World Cup history shows why Super League idea should be dead

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On the corner of the Middle Corniche in Jeddah, protected by giant steel fences and looking more like one of the opulent palaces that are commonplace in this part of the world, lies the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

A room in the five-star residency for tonight's Club World Cup final will set you back about £500, but for the last couple of weeks, it has had the flags of FIFA flying outside.

It's a surprise they weren't at half-mast on Thursday. This is unmistakably the base of the governing body for the past couple of weeks.

It is in this hotel that they signed off plans for a new, expanded Club World Cup less than a week ago. When Manchester City face Fluminese in the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on Friday, it will be the last final of the current format, one that somehow feels both outdated and quaint. ALSO READ: 'Teams want to beat us more' - City treble has made them a bigger scalp ALSO READ: Guardiola opens up on City team dinner and Riyad Mahrez reunion The 32-team affair to be played in the United States in June and July 2025 is FIFA's attempt to bring some of that cash floating around the club game into its coffers.

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