Is the Club World Cup Financially Unfair?

Is the Club World Cup Financially Unfair?

The FIFA Club World Cup got underway across the Atlantic earlier this week, and it allows another excuse for FIFA to add more football to an already busy schedule for many players, giving them very limited time to rest.

Obviously, with more football in the calendar, this also comes with more revenue streams for clubs, and so they will not mind in the slightest. Especially for clubs who have been affected by or have to avoid breaching the profit and sustainability rules (PSR,) such as Chelsea and Manchester City who are always in conversation about the tactics they use in order not to breach these rules, despite always finding ways to spend their billions to improve their squads.

As per @OptaAnalyst

Chelsea have 8.4% chances of winning FIFA Club World Cup, ranked in 6th place just behind Real Madrid.#BlueCo | #CFC | #FIFACWC pic.twitter.com/9d6EdF2IHH

— 💥 BlueCo Xtra (@Bluecoxtra) June 9, 2025

Both clubs will be chasing glory in the United States, and will aim to put themselves in a tidier position, helping to ensure they remain above the PSR threshold. This is the ideal opportunity to earn more income to stabilise for future seasons and to maintain sustainable growth.

Financial Earnings Breakdown

The Club World Cup offers a completely unique competition, as spectators are able to see the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez return to playing European opposition again. This competition also, however, offers a huge financial boost to all clubs involved, even for just taking part and losing all three group matches.

🏆 Club World Cup prize money:

◾ $2m/£1.5m per win
◾ $1m/£0.8m per draw
◾ $7.5m/£5.8m Round of 16
◾ $13.12m/£10.1m Quarter-Final
◾ $21m/£16.2m Semi-final
◾ $30m/£23.2m Runner-up
◾ $40m/£30m Champions 🥇 pic.twitter.com/bJWo6dGlZE

— Łukasz Bączek (@Lu_Class_) June 15, 2025

Some clubs will earn more money than others, for example the UEFA sides can earn between $12-$38 million compared to Oceania’s Auckland City who will earn just over $3.5 million. There are of course, additional earnings available to clubs, which is why the tournament may be considered to be financially unfair to those who are not in it.

The UEFA clubs will be earning a guaranteed $20+ million overall just for making it out of the group stage. The winners of the competition can even earn as much as $40 million, which may be very handy for any business they may want to conduct over the second summer window.

The Club World Cup sees a complete mixture of teams from around the world, and many clubs will fancy their chances at making a deep run - especially if a certain Auckland City lies in the group.

For the full breakdown on the potential earnings for all 32 participants, click here.

How Are Chelsea and Manchester City Benefitting from This

There are just two English sides who were invited over to the United States this summer, meaning the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United all missed out. FIFA put a two team per nation cap on the competition, and all sides who won any of the past four regional Champions Leagues in the 2021-2024 period would automatically receive an invitation. Since Chelsea and Man City were victorious in 2021 and 2023 respectively, it meant the English representatives were locked in.

Many believed this decision was unfair, especially for The Blues for receiving an invite, despite winning the competition four years ago. Only Reece James remains from the side who took down Pep’s City side in Porto. Since that win, Chelsea have been in a precarious position, and a tough takeover from the much-loved Roman Abramovich to Todd Boehly saw them go without a trophy during his ownership, until their recent 2025 UEFA Conference League title, despite spending eye-watering sums throughout this time.

The Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations have added a new level of intrigue to the transfer market.

Your club might have the cash, but do they have the PSR wiggle room?@CWeatherspoon_ looks at every Premier League side.

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 5, 2025

So, it is no surprise that many fans are seething at the fact Enzo Maresca and his team head to the States to earn even more money to spend, when Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and even Aston Villa may be much more deserving of a spot in this prestigious club competition. Chelsea and City sit in very comfortable positions for PSR too, and so arguably do not need this finance as much as other clubs. As you can see from the table above, clubs like Aston Villa are at risk of a PSR breach and Newcastle are not in an outstanding position either.

Chelsea are in a comfortable position due to selling so many homegrown talents over recent years, notably Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount bringing in large sums. For Newcastle and Villa, however, they do not have the luxury of having an incredible academy where stars are brought through season after season, making it much more difficult to keep within the lines of PSR. Recent domestic success for them has seen them return to European football too. This does come at a cost however, having to spend to compete as well as increasing salaries of star players as a result.

Chelsea begin their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 comfortable win over LAFC; Pedro Neto & Enzo Fernandes with both goals pic.twitter.com/G3YVBGdFJN

— Football Fans Tribe 🇳🇬 ⚽ (@FansTribeHQ) June 16, 2025

For UEFA clubs, this competition is seen as free money for some and is potentially another reason why fans are not happy with the likes of Chelsea’s participation. The Blues’ 2-0 victory over Los Angeles FC in Atlanta on Monday night has put them in a very advantageous position, potentially only needing a win over Brazil’s Flamengo to secure a spot in the last 16. Manchester City, meanwhile, get their tournament journey underway on Wednesday afternoon, when they play Wydad Casablanca, and are also in a group where there is a massive gap in quality, which should see Pep’s new look Citizens safely into the next round.