“A single Real Madrid match is worth 20 million euros”… why Real Madrid will not participate in the next Club World Cup ?

Recently winner of the Champions League, Real will not participate in the World Cup. dpa – Robert Michael

Real Madrid will not participate in the FIFA Club World Cup which is due to bring together 32 of the best teams in the world in 2025, its coach Carlo Ancelotti announced on Monday, amid criticism of the schedule imposed on the players.

"A single Real Madrid match is worth 20 million euros and Fifa wants to give us this sum for the entire Cup. Negative. Like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation", explained the Italian technician in an interview with the Italian daily Il Giornale.

"FIFA can forget it. Footballers and clubs will not participate in this tournament", he said.

In conflict with the Global Players Union

The first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup is to be held from June 15 to July 13, 2025 in the United States, but this competition has attracted criticism for several months because of the increase of the players' workload and the risks to their health.

In May, the World Association of Football Leagues and Fifpro, the global players' union, called on the international body to review the competition calendar, under penalty of ;#39;initiate legal proceedings. They argue that the football competition calendar is now "beyond saturation" and that these calendar changes have created "economic damage" for the national leagues.