Why Madrid Won’t Play 2025 FIFA World Club Cup – Ancelotti

Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has declared that the Champions League winner will reject the invitation to participate in the upcoming FIFA World Club Cup.

Ancelotti said dissatisfaction with the competition’s prize money was the reason for the decision.

The FIFA Club World Cup is an annual international club football competition organized by FIFA, the sport’s global governing body. It features the champions from each of the six continental confederations (UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, AFC, CAF, and OFC), along with the host nation’s domestic league champions.

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The tournament follows a straight knockout format over two weeks, with the champions from Oceania facing the host nation’s champions in a play-off. The winners join the champions from Asia, Africa, and North America in the quarter-finals. The European and South American champions enter at the semi-final stage.

Ancelotti told Italian newspaper Il Giornale, that “Real Madrid will NOT go to the FIFA World Club, we will reject the invitation like other clubs.”

The Italian tactician further explained the club’s stance, revealing the stark financial disparity between the tournament’s prize money and the revenue generated by a single Real Madrid match.

“Just one single Real Madrid match is worth €20m, and they want to give us that money for the whole competition… no way. Negative,” Ancelotti told Il Giornale.