Fifa Club World Cup: How much have Man City and Chelsea earned so far?

Published 9 hours ago• 3 minute read

who scored in their 3-0 win over ES Tunis.

But that transfer fee has probably been paid off already - or near enough - by the Blues' prize money.

Or else it has pretty much covered the £29m they will pay for Palmeiras winger Estevao Willian after the Club World Cup.

Manchester City paid £31m for Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who assisted a goal in their 5-2 win over Juve.

That fee has already been paid off by their earnings - with an extra £7m or so.

The £30.5m City paid Lyon for forward Rayan Cherki, who scored in the 6-0 win over Al Ain, would also be covered by a run to the semi-finals.

And if they win the tournament, they would also have earned enough for about two-thirds of the £46.3m fee they paid AC Milan for Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.

To put the total potential prize pot of £91.9m into context, only about 12 transfer fees in football history amount to more.

Favourably - especially when you consider the tournament is 'only' seven games long for the winner.

Paris St-Germain earned about £95m for winning the Champions League last season, but their campaign was 17 matches in total.

Prize money in the 38-game Premier League is more nuanced and dependant on revenues, but in 2023-24 champions Manchester City took home £175.9m.

At the other end of the scale, Crystal Palace only pocketed £3.9m for winning the FA Cup this year.

That means a team would have to lift the FA Cup 24 times to earn the same amount of prize money as City - who lost to Palace at Wembley - would by winning the Club World Cup.

Speaking in March when the prize fund was first announced, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his squad "don't deserve" to see any of the money on offer.

While City have impressed so far in the competition - not least in Thursday's 5-2 thumping of Juventus - it follows a tough and trophyless campaign.

"We don't deserve a bonus this season," said Guardiola. "The bonus, if you win, I don't know how much, it's for the club.

"The managers, the backroom staff, the players, we don't deserve - not even a watch."

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says he hasn't felt any extra pressure because of the riches on offer.

"The owners just want the best for us and for the players game by game, and they are not talking about the final prize or the final reward in terms of money," said Maresca before their final group game against ES Tunis.

"They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money."

Media caption,

Manchester City 'don't deserve' Club World Cup bonus - Guardiola

In March, European Leagues president Claudius Schafer says he "fears for the future" of domestic competitions because of the distortion created by the Club World Cup prize money.

"If an Austrian league club gets $50m, that has a huge influence on [that] league," he said.

Salzburg will have earned at least £11.5m despite going out in the group stage.

Meanwhile, Seattle Sounders warmed up for a game in T-shirts with 'Club World Ca$h Grab' written on the front, in an argument involving MLS players over bonuses.

New Zealand champions Auckland City, whose team are made up of amateurs on expenses, are also involved in a similar issue.