Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said the Spanish giants will not accept an invitation to play in the 2025 Club World Cup, explaining the reasons for this informal decision in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale. The 2025 Club World Cup will be the first tournament expanded to a format very similar to the World Cup, involving 32 teams. The tournament will be held in the United States in June and July 2025 and will feature teams from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Europe.
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In an interview, Ancelotti said that Real Madrid would not take part along with the other teams: “Neither the player nor the club will take part in the tournament. One match for Real Madrid is worth 20 million euros and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the whole tournament. It won’t work. The other clubs will reject the invitation, just like us.”
Twenty-nine of the 32 teams have already qualified, leaving just three spots. The increased number of matches for the 2024-25 season has drawn criticism from the league and players’ association. Teams such as Real Madrid qualified through a “Champions Pathway” by winning continental club competitions. Other teams qualified through a “Rankings Pathway” based on past performances in non-domestic competitions.
There are also issues with the contracts of players taking part in tournaments, with some players potentially needing to be restricted, for example in the Europa League where contracts expire at the end of June while the tournament is on. FIFA has yet to comment on how it wants to resolve this issue, but Ancelotti’s comments are surely another red flag that needs to be monitored.
