In brief
In order to boost status, FIFA redesigned the Club World Cup, adding more teams and prize money.
Every victory brings in money for clubs with higher rankings, which in turn receive more from prize distribution.
The highest salaries to date have been reported by elite teams including Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.
The purpose of this summer’s redesigned Club World Cup, which now includes 32 teams instead of just seven and features elite clubs from all around the world based on their results over the previous four years, was to bring new significance to a once-overlooked competition. FIFA has increased prize money significantly, which is one of the most effective ways it has raised the stakes.
However, how much money did each of the participating clubs make? Even though teams like Barcelona, Napoli, and Liverpool—all of whom missed this renovated showpiece despite winning domestic titles—might enjoy the sudden break as they prepare for the new campaign, you could understand their jealousy of the wealth available in the revamped competition.
The Club World Cup divides the £772.81 million prize fund into two main pillars: participation payment and sports performance, following UEFA’s strategy throughout its three championships. Simply put, the fatter your check, the higher your ranking.
Each win can generate significant revenue, but lower-coefficient clubs receive a lesser share of the pie. Thanks to the BBC, who referenced FIFA and The Swiss Ramble, we’ve examined what each team banked after Chelsea’s victory over PSG in the final.
32-25
Auckland City, Wydad AC, and Seattle Sounders feature among the worst-paid clubs
Nobody would be surprised to learn that Auckland City, whose team is primarily composed of semi-professionals who had to take yearly leave to play, is at the bottom of the earnings list with only £3.3 million. With one goal scored and a heartbreaking 17 goals given up, their group stage campaign ended with just one point.
Oddly, despite not earning a single point, Wydad Casablanca received twice as much as Auckland because of their higher club position. Even though none of those teams left the United States with more than a draw from their three games, they earned £7 million, the same amount that Urawa Red Diamonds, Ulsan HD, Seattle Sounders, and Pachuca did.
Los Angeles FC earned £7.7 million on home soil despite only managing one result, a 1-1 tie with Flamengo in the first round. Even though they weren’t the highest-paid African team at the tournament, ES Tunis, the Tunisian team that defeated LAFC 1-0, took home £8.5 million.
Place
Club
Profits
32.
City of Auckland
£3.3 million
= 27.
Casablanca, Wydad
Seven million pounds
= 27.
The Pachuca
Seven million pounds
= 27.
The Seattle Sounders
Seven million pounds
= 27.
HD Ulsan
Seven million pounds
= 27.
Red Diamonds of Urawa
Seven million pounds
26.
Los Angeles Football Club
£7.7 million
= 23.
ES Tunis
£8.5 million
24–17
Al-Hilal, River Plate, and Boca Juniors were among them.
Both Egyptian powerhouse Al-Ahly and United Arab Emirates team Al-Ain, who are the most successful teams in international football according to various awards, took home £8.5 million. The highest-earning African team at the tournament was Mamelodi Sundowns, a South African team. They earned £9.2 million via a tie with Fluminense and a close 1-0 victory against Ulsan. They also had a chance to win something against Borussia Dortmund but lost in an exciting 4-3 match.
With their ownership group almost swimming in wealth, RB Salzburg is unlikely to be overly delighted with their £11.6 million windfall. The one significant complaint Boca Juniors have with their £12.6 million prize fund, however, may be that it was not as high as that of their bitter rivals River Plate of Buenos Aires. They made £13.3 million thanks to River’s four points.
With a one-point victory over River Plate in Group E, Monterrey—the last footballing home of Sergio Ramos—qualified for the Round of 16 and earned £15.5 million. However, Inter Miami is another team that is unlikely to even take notice of their earnings. £15.5 million for David Beckham’s team, which aims to unseat LA Galaxy as the MLS’s A-listers, may as well be spare change in the cushions even though it matches Monterrey’s amount. However, the funds might still be used to pay for Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, and Lionel Messi’s salaries.
Place
Club
Profits
= 23.
Al-Ain
£8.5 million
= 23.
Al-Ahly
£8.5 million
22.
Sundowns in Mamelodi
£9.2 million
21.
RB Salzburg
£11.6 million
20.
Junior Boca
£12.6 million
19.
Plate of Rivers
£13.3 million
= 17.
The Monterrey
£15.5 million
= 17.
Miami Inter
£15.5 million
16–9 Inter Milan, Champions League finalists, feature
Atletico Madrid received a sobering reminder of how far behind their European competitors they still are following a humiliating 4-0 loss to Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and placing lower in their group than Botafogo. To lessen the damage, £17.4 million is still a respectable profit; it’s only marginally less than Porto’s £17.6 million. Even though Juventus, the biggest team in Serie A, lost 5-2 to Manchester City, they just missed the £20 million milestone.
Even though the national team has struggled in recent big international tournaments, Botafogo and Flamengo, two of Brazil’s four representatives, each earned £19.6 million and £20.3 million, solidifying their status as South America’s club football powerhouses. When Benfica defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, many were taken aback. They failed to add to their £23 million take-home pay because they couldn’t duplicate that kind of performance against Chelsea in the Round of 16.
Al-Hilal, the flag-bearers of Saudi Arabia, shocked everyone by defeating Manchester City 4-3 in the Round of 16 to increase their prize money to £24.95 million. Although AI recently ranked their domestic league extremely low in comparison to the rest of the world, the oil-rich club is more excited about the opportunity to demonstrate that they can compete with Europe’s best teams than they are about money this summer. To date, they have done just that, holding Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in their opening match.
Last season, Inter Milan advanced to their second Champions League final in three years, but they lost to Paris Saint-Germain in a historic 5-0 thumping at the Allianz Arena. They will be devastated by a 2-0 setback to Fluminense that sent them packing early, but they will be aiming to use their £26.3 million revenues wisely to make another drive.
Place
Club
Profits thus far
16.
Real Madrid
17.4 million pounds
15.
Porto
17.6 million pounds
14.
Juventus
£19.6 million
13.
Botafogo
£19.6 million
12.
The Flamengo
£20.3 million
11.
Benfica
Twenty-three million pounds
10.
Al-Hilal
Twenty-five million pounds
9.
Milan Inter
£26.3 million
8-1 The highest earnings are claimed by Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSG.
Palmeiras lost to Chelsea in the quarterfinal after defeating Brazilian rivals Botafogo by a slim margin in the Round of 16. Their progress to the final eight won them a cool £29.1 million.
Borussia Dortmund will take many positives from earning more than Manchester City in the end, who were stopped in their tracks after winning £37.8 million and crashed out at the hands of Al-Hilal. However, they will need to reinvest their £38.4 million in earnings if they want to avoid finishing 25 points behind the Bundesliga champions again next season.
Although their competition has been overshadowed by the terrible injury to their key player, Jamal Musiala, in their quarterfinal loss to PSG, Bayern earned little over £4 million more than their Bundesliga competitors.
After losing in the semi-finals, Fluminense and Real Madrid took home £50.4 million and £66.5 million, respectively. Chelsea won the championship with £84 million, just more than £5 million more than PSG, the team they defeated 3-0 in the final.
Place
Club
Profits thus far
8.
The Palmeiras
£29.1 million
7.
City of Manchester
£37.8 million
6.
Dortmund Borussia
£38.4 million
5.
The Bayern Munich
£42.7 million
4.
Fluminense
£50.4 million
3.
Real Madrid
£66.5 million
2.
PSG
£78.4 million
1.
Chelsea
£84 million
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