Chelsea and Man City in line for £60m raise after reaching FIFA deal

Manchester City and Chelsea could pocket up to £60 million for their involvement in the new Club World Cup, following FIFA's lucrative broadcast rights deal with DAZN.

The two Premier League clubs are the only English teams to have qualified for the tournament, thanks to their Champions League triumphs in 2023 and 2021 respectively.

This year the competition has grown from seven to 32 teams and is scheduled for June and July next year. City will compete in Group G alongside Juventus of Italy, Moroccan Wydad AC and Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates.

Chelsea, meanwhile, will face Brazilian Flamengo, Mexico's Club Leon and Tunisia's Esperance Sportive in Group D. According to the Daily Mail, City and Chelsea have been told they could earn between £50 million and £60 million by participating in the Club. World Cup, following FIFA's billion-dollar deal with streaming giant DAZN.

It appears that major European clubs will receive more money for their broadcasts than other clubs, while the Football Association would benefit from a solidarity fund which would benefit the governing bodies of the 32 participating clubs.

The report further states that clubs were informed of the financial rewards in a meeting ahead of the draw, which could potentially cause problems for rivals City and Chelsea, who “will be lucky to win around 10%.” 60 million pounds sterling” thanks to their summer tours. overseas.

Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations significantly influence transfer market dynamics, and clubs may perceive Chelsea and City's financial boost as an unfair advantage.

City manager Pep Guardiola, despite the large sums up for grabs, has been critical of the tournament amid growing fears over player burnout. FIFA introduced regulations requiring clubs to play their strongest teams “throughout the tournament”, which sparked further displeasure from Guardiola.

“Who are the strongest players? Which ones? FIFA will tell me which players are stronger than the others? I don't understand that,” he said earlier this season. “We will go there with the whole team.

“We're not going for just one game, are we? So I don't know who the competition itself is at the moment, but we're not going there with 11 players, we're going there with the whole team. team. I don't understand how the selection of players is 'stronger' than the others, I know!

“Stronger means being fit, and maybe the strongest for them is in really, really, really bad conditions! For many reasons: personal, physical, injuries, problems, and we will play others . I'm not going to know before the matches which players are going to play, it's me who will decide, that's for sure!”