FIFA’s $1 billion Club World Cup prize: How Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola’s Man City, and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami stand to cash in.
FIFA’s $1 BILLION Club World Cup: Who’s Cashing In?
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi runs during an MLS soccer match against the LA Galaxy. Messi will be with his Inter Miami team at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.
Credit: Shutterstock, Ringo Chiu
Football’s money train is steaming ahead – and it’s making a stop at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with a record-smashing $1 billion in prize money up for grabs. It’s the biggest payday in club football history, and it’s got the sport’s biggest names licking their lips.
What’s happening at the brand new FIFA Club World Cup?
FIFA has unveiled plans to revolutionise the Club World Cup, expanding it to 32 teams and dangling an eye-watering prize pot that dwarfs even the men’s and women’s World Cup payouts. The tournament, set to kick off in June 2025, will see footballing giants from across the globe battle it out over seven matches in the United States – with the ultimate champions set to take home a fortune.
The fine details on how FIFA is funding this extravagant overhaul remain under wraps, but the governing body has been busy inking lucrative sponsorship and broadcasting deals to bankroll the event.
DAZN, the London-based streaming service, snapped up global broadcasting rights for a reported $1 billion.
In the U.S., TNT Sports will air 24 of the 63 matches, with clubs like Messi’s Inter Miami expected to feature prominently for American audiences.
Sponsorship deals have been struck with Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Hisense, and AB InBev, among others.
The FIFA money game
The cash isn’t being dished out evenly. Around €529 million ($575 million) will be paid in participation fees, while around €429 million ($465 million) will be performance-based – meaning the further a team progresses, the more they rake in.
Not all clubs will receive the same baseline payment either. Manchester City and Chelsea, for example, could reportedly pocket up to €83.1 million each ($90 million), further fuelling concerns that the sport’s richest clubs are pulling away financially.
But in an attempt to keep things fair, FIFA has set aside at least €138 million ($150 million) in “solidarity payments” for clubs not competing in the tournament. That figure could rise to about €231 million ($250 million), with FIFA pledging to reinvest every single dollar from the tournament into global club football.
But while FIFA insists it won’t be profiting from the tournament, critics argue that the vast sums being handed to Europe’s elite clubs only deepen the financial inequality in football.
Did you know?
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be hosted across 12 venues in 11 U.S. cities, culminating in a grand final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium – the same venue set to host the 2026 World Cup final.
With clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Inter Miami all set to take part, the 2025 Club World Cup could mark a new era for football. Whether it creates a level playing field or just further lines the pockets of football’s elite remains to be seen.
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