The Ligue 1 champions propelled themselves into the Club World Cup’s round of 16 where they will face Inter Miami after an easy 2-0 win over Seattle Sounders on Monday night on the stadium's artificial turf, which was replaced with a temporary hybrid grass for the tournament. Speaking after the game, Enrique sent a message to FIFA regarding the surface, which he believes is not suited to football.
"I care about the condition of the pitch, and I’m saying this today because we won. The fields here are very different from those in Europe. The ball bounces unpredictably, almost like a rabbit, and today, for example, the pitch was previously artificial turf but now natural grass, which they have to water by hand.
“They watered it during halftime, but it dries up within 10 minutes. This definitely causes problems for the style of play we want," he explained.
Enrique also couldn’t resist a playful jab at the United States and joked that you would not expect a low-quality playing field in more popular sports in America.
"I can’t imagine an NBA court with holes in it. We play on pitches where the ball behaves more like a rabbit than a ball. It affects us negatively, though it might benefit others. If we’re going to criticize, this is something that definitely needs to change.”
There are fewer than 12 months before the Fifa World Cup takes place across Canada, Mexico and the United States and concerns have come out from other prominent stars such as Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham who said that the pitches are a risk to player welfare which is a major concern ahead of next year’s tournament.
"The pitches aren't great at all. It holds up the ball, the ball barely bounces," said the England midfielder.
"It's tough on the knees as well. Hopefully, there's someone who will look at that going into the World Cup next year."