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Top clubs do well financially at Club World Cup

The Club World Cup has generated little excitement in the UK and although I watched some of the games on 5, others do not appear to have been broadcast (ok, one can go to DAZN.com).  Financially, it's case of to those that hath shall be given in large part.

A look at the prize money leaders throws up some familiar (some might say obvious) names. Sitting at the top are Manchester City, the only club to exceed $50m so far. Behind them are some of the wealthiest clubs in world football: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and on it goes.

Regardless of the order, it’s fairly clear European sides will be taking home most of the spoils. The top eight prize money spots are occupied by European clubs and of the $741m allocated, $424.5m (57 per cent) has gone to UEFA clubs. On average, the 12 competing clubs from football’s richest continent have earned $35.4m apiece this summer. 

The distribution of participation fees ensured Europe’s clubs would always get the biggest slice of the prize. It speaks volumes that Porto and Atletico Madrid were knocked out at the group stage but have earned more than Al Hilal, Inter Miami and Monterrey, who have reached the last 16.

Of the three MLS teams competing, only Inter Miami remain, having generated $21.1m before Sunday’s meeting with Paris Saint-Germain.

This summer’s tournament has offered quite the boon to at least two Brazilian clubs. Flamengo and Palmeiras already lead the revenue stakes back home, but based on the most recent figures, fellow Club World Cup participants Fluminense and Botafogo were sixth and eighth among their domestic rivals. Each of them has earned $26.7m, a huge proportion of their usual revenues.

For Fluminense, it’s over a third of their $74m turnover in 2024. For Botafogo, the boost is even higher; their prize money from the last fortnight is almost half of the $55m they generated across the whole of 2023 (they are yet to publish 2024 financials).

Get past their respective hurdles of Serie A side Inter and domestic rivals Palmeiras, and each will bank a further $13.1m, as will anyone else who makes the quarter-finals.

A huge amount of money has already been divvied up across this summer’s 32 Club World Cup teams, but there’s plenty left to play for. A further $259m will be allocated between now and the competition’s end on July 13.

Comments

  1. Can I ask, how do you think this world club cup will affect the domestic leagues of the various participates? As football has became a money game, especially for those teams in leagues not so awash with it as Europe though some European leagues are dominated by set few.

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    Replies
    1. Good question, we will have to see how the competition develops but the indications are that it will boost the financial position of the top European clubs and increase the gap between them and other clubs, e.g., PSG and Bayern Munich will become more dominant in their leagues.

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