Man City's Club World Cup windfall could lead to further spending - but Liverpool shouldn't care
This summer's Club World Cup has, predictably, not been much of a hit in the UK.
There is Premier League representation at the tournament in Chelsea and Manchester City, but truth be told, the tournament has failed to capture the imagination of supporters. The Premier League - won by Liverpool last season, by the way - and Champions League continue to be the two elite competitions for English clubs.
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Perhaps fans are suffering from football fatigue, or perhaps it's because of the kickoff times, but whichever way you look at it — this has not been the tournament that Gianni Infantino was clearly hoping it would be. Even the manager of one of the best teams in the world, Pep Guardiola, admitted that the winner will likely be forgotten fairly quickly.
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'Well, now we're here, we want to do well. I don't know," Guardiola said when asked how invested he is in winning the Club World Cup. 'Maybe after two or three days at the end of the tournament it'll be forgotten.'
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The tournament's main appeal, clearly, is the lucrative prize money on offer, with a total of $1 billion on offer.
City has already made a whopping $51 million, comprised mainly of a substantial appearance fee, as well as $2 million for each group-stage win, over Wydad, Al Ain, and Juventus.
Those wins secured City's place in the last 16 of the competition, and qualification for the last 16 was enough to secure another $7.5 million in prize money.
If Guardiola's men go on to win the competition, the club will bank another $32.5 million, taking the club's winnings to more than $80 million.
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That is all well and good from a financial perspective, but the tournament is far from ideal preparation for the 2025-26 Premier League season.
City is coming off the back of its worst season in almost a decade, and storming around dodgy astroturf fields in sweltering heat is unlikely to get the players in prime shape to reclaim their crown from Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Liverpool's players are deep into their summer vacations as Mohamed Salah and Co enjoy some rest and relaxation ahead of their title defense.
Mohamed Salah doesn't seem too fussed about missing out on the Club World Cup -Credit:X/@MoSalah
Liverpool's pre-season gets under way on July 7 — six weeks on from the title parade — and that means that City's players could still be in Club World Cup action when the Reds play their first pre-season game.
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The semi-finals of the Club World Cup take place on July 8 and July 9, with the final kicking off at 8pm BST on July 13 — five hours after Liverpool faces Preston in its pre-season opener at Deepdale.
So, regardless of the lucrative sums that City is pulling in, there is no chance that Liverpool would choose to swap positions with its biggest rival right now.
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