ODIN THIAGO HOLM arrived at Celtic Park from Scandinavia with a superstar middle name and lofty ambitions.
It hasn’t quite worked out for him to date – with the Norwegian midfielder reluctant to lift last season’s Premiership trophy as he felt so far out of the first team picture.
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Brendan Rodgers has told him he needs to run more if he is to feature in his first team going forward – but Holm has just been handed an enviable chance to battle it out with some of the best teams in the planet.
That’s because Mexican outfit Leon have just been kicked out of the Club World Cup for a breach of multi-club rules.
While Leon had argued they were separate to CF Pachuca, who keep their place, the Court of Arbitration for Sport kicked out their appeal this afternoon.
That means this summer‘s lucrative tournament in the US has a fresh vacancy, and LAFC – where Holm is out on-loan – have been handed a one-off playoff to get themselves in there.
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It’s being reported Stateside that LAFC have been picked because they finished as the runners-up to Leon in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League, while Club America top the co-efficient rankings for the four-year qualification cycle in question.
The winner of the tie will be placed in the final spot of Group D, alongside Chelsea, Flamengo and ES Tunis.
And that’s set to generate them sums north of £10m – with the winner will gain a guaranteed entry fee of $9.55 million, plus an additional $2 million per group stage win and round-by-round prize money.
Holm is desperate to play his part – and is keen to get back into the first team conversation with the Hoops when his contract expires in December.
He told the Daily Record: “I spoke to the manager a little bit before leaving. He wished me luck and told me to come back with more experience and confidence. I think he understood my reasons as well.
“I was coming back from an injury and was out for a while, so it was important for me to get a full pre-season to get back to fitness.
“I needed to play and get back to my best.
“LA and the MLS were very fitting in my situation. But the plan is to come back and to really fight for a spot in the team.
The Lowdown: Club World Cup 2025
Who’s at the Club World Cup
A total of 32 teams will compete in the 2025 Club World Cup. They are selected from six different federations.
UEFA has the most representatives, with 12 slots, followed by CONMEBOL, which boasts six places at the tournament. The AFC and CAF have four representative teams. CONCACAF ordinarily will have four slots, but avails of an extra one in 2025 due to hosting duties. The OFC, meanwhile, has just one slot.
Among the teams to qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup are Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City, Monterrey, Seattle Sounders and Al-Hilal. Leon was disqualified from the tournament by FIFA,
AFC – Al Hilal, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Ulsan HD
CAF – Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Esperance de Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns
CONCACAF – Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, Pachuca, Inter Miami, LAFC or Club America
CONMEBOL – Palmeiras, Fluminense, Flamengo, Botafogo, River Plate, Boca Juniors
OFC – Auckland City
UEFA– Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg
“I signed a new contract before I went out on loan. There are not many clubs in the world that are cooler to play for than Celtic. So the goal is to come back and play there.”
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