Porto was another European club eliminated. I guess the players thought enough is enough, let's go on vacation. Otherwise they wouldn't have conceded 4 goals against a team like Al-Ahly. Even if they had won, nothing would have changed because Inter Miami was leading 2-0 then conceded two goals in the last 10 minutes to draw the match and Inter Miami and Palmeiras advanced to the next round.
Atletico Madrid and Porto were the teams eliminated early. But this shouldn't come as a surprise. Not every player gives this tournament the same importance. You have to give credit to the players after a long league marathon. They need a vacation, they need to rest. Otherwise they are more likely to get injured.
I don't think that the players don't give the right importance to this tournament, we are talking about a competition of great economic interest, it cannot be snubbed so easily.
I feel sorry for Porto, but they were not up to the task, this was a match that had to be won at all costs but they failed to do so and it cost them elimination. But the most disappointed are the Atletico Madrid players who, despite 2 victories and 6 points in the standings, have to say goodbye to the competition due to goal difference. They were so close to qualifying! They only needed one goal to advance, but that wasn't the case. What a shame!
Porto had one of the worst seasons in the last 10 years, and their performance in this tournament was proof of that.
Despite the financial benefits, most European clubs (especially the very big ones) were not very happy with this tournament. But this reaction is also usually caused by it being something new and at the end of a very long epoch. If the tournament really does return in this format, things could be different.
European clubs are complaining that there are too many games per season. In my opinion, the problem is that they want to play every game with the same players. The squads need to get bigger and give more players opportunities. If they really start rotating more players in games, there won't be this generalized fatigue.