Real Madrid, the winner of the last edition of the Champions League and probably the world’s most prestigious football club, has announced its decision to reject the invitation to participate in FIFA’s Club World Cup. Manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed this decision, stating that the club will not be part of the tournament.
🚨 Carlo Ancelotti: “Real Madrid will NOT go to the FIFA World Club, we will reject the invitation like other clubs”.
“Just one single Real Madrid match is worth €20m and they want to give us that money for the whole competition… no way. Negative”, told Il Giornale. pic.twitter.com/MaOELzETF5
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 10, 2024
The new format of the Club World Cup is planned to include 32 teams, with its first edition scheduled to take place from June 15 to July 13, 2025. Despite FIFA’s ambitions to expand the tournament, resistance from top clubs and leagues poses a significant challenge to its implementation.
“Real Madrid will NOT go to the FIFA World Club, we will reject the invitation like other clubs” Ancelotti told Il Giornale. He emphasized the financial inadequacy of the proposed reward, adding, “Just one single Real Madrid match is worth €20 million and they want to give us that money for the whole competition… no way. Negative.”
Ancelotti highlighted that the prize fund, which has not yet been officially announced, is a significant factor in Los Blancos’ decision. He pointed out that other clubs are likely to decline participation as well. Recently, Premier League and LaLiga officials have threatened to boycott this tournament format, and players’ unions are prepared to strike due to the overloaded calendar if FIFA does not abandon this championship formula.