Real Madrid refuses to qualify for the Club World Cup – Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said that the club will refuse to participate in the first edition of the new Club World Cup organized by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) next summer due to a lack of financial incentives.

The expanded competition is scheduled to be held in the United States in June and July 2025, with 32 teams from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania participating.

29 of the 32 seats have already been filled, with Real Madrid qualifying by winning the Champions League in 2022 and 2024.

However, in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale Ancelotti said on Monday that Real Madrid – along with other unnamed clubs – do not plan to participate.

Ancelotti said: “Players and clubs will not participate in that tournament.” “One match for Real Madrid is worth 20 million euros, and FIFA wants to give us this amount for the entire tournament. Negative.

“Just like us, other clubs will decline the invitation.”

The revamped Club World Cup is a flagship initiative by FIFA, as it looks to replicate the success of club competitions such as the Champions League and Copa Libertadores.

The last edition of the previous Club World Cup, held in Saudi Arabia in December 2023, involved only seven teams and was won by Manchester City, who beat Brazilian team Fluminense in the final.

The new format, first announced in 2022, is set to include 12 teams from UEFA, six from CONMEBOL, four each from CONCACAF, CAF and AFC, one from Oceania and a team from the host nation.

These teams qualify via either the ‘Champions Path’ – winning the club competition on their continent – or the ‘Classification Path’ based on past performance.

The tournament faced criticism from local leagues and players’ unions, who said that players were subjected to severe fatigue.

Speaking last month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino rejected the claims.

Infantino said: “FIFA organizes about 1% of the matches of the major clubs in the world.” “When it comes to national teams, it’s very similar.

“If you look at all the national team matches around the world, we still have between 1% and 2% of the matches organized by FIFA. And all the other matches, 98% to 99%, are organized by other organisations.”

“With 1% or 2% of the matches organized by FIFA, FIFA funds football all over the world… I hope that these numbers will stop this sterile debate.”

Ancelotti is spending a holiday in Vancouver, Canada, after a season in which he led the club to the Champions League and Spanish League double.

He told El Jornal that he had not given up hope of persuasion Tony Cross To change his mind about retirement, after the midfielder said that he would retire after playing in the European Championship this summer with Germany.

Ancelotti said: “Unfortunately, Kroos decided to stop. He is German in his choices, but he will continue to live in Madrid.” “I told him if he had to change his mind in the fall, phone him and we’d start over.”