Manchester City, Chelsea set to earn Up to £97m at Club World Cup

Manchester City and Chelsea could earn up to £97m in prize money from this year’s Club World Cup, which will take place in the United States from June 15 to July 13. The overall prize fund for the tournament is £775m, with £407m divided among all participating clubs and £368m awarded based on performance.

The prize money for participation is weighted by a ranking based on sporting and commercial criteria, meaning European clubs will earn more for taking part than teams from other continents. The top-ranked European team will receive £29.6m just for participating, with the potential to secure the maximum prize of around £97m for winning all their group-stage games and the tournament.

Manchester City and Chelsea, who qualified for the tournament thanks to their recent Champions League wins, could earn the biggest prize money ever awarded in club football over a seven-game format. A group-stage win will net a team £1.5m, with £5.8m for reaching the last 16, £10.2m for reaching the quarterfinals, £16.3m for reaching the semi-finals, and £31m for winning the final.

The expanded Club World Cup will feature 32 clubs, with 12 places available for European teams. The teams were decided by their Champions League performances over the past four seasons. Other European teams have qualified through a Uefa ranking system determined by clubs’ performances over the four seasons.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said, “The distribution model of the Fifa Club World Cup reflects the pinnacle of club football.” The tournament is expected to be a major event, with teams from each of the six international football confederations participating.

The success of the tournament largely hinges on clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich, which have negotiated substantial revenue to participate. The tournament’s prize money is comparable to what clubs earn from participating in the Champions League.