Breaking: Real Madrid confirm participation in FIFA Club World Cup; release statement after Ancelotti said club will reject invitation
Real Madrid have announced that they will participate in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Their statement comes just hours after Carlo Ancelotti's interview where he allegedly stated the club would reject the invitation to participate in the competition.
Los Blancos released an official statement, announcing they had no plans to withdraw from the Club World Cup. They are keen on playing in the tournament and have set their sights on winning the trophy. The statement read:
"Real Madrid C. F. communicates that at no time their participation in the new FIFA Club World Cup in 2024/2025 season been questioned. Therefore, our club will play, as planned, this official competition that we face with pride and with the utmost enthusiasm to make our millions of fans around the world dream again with a new title."
Ancelotti, on the other hand, claimed that his comments on the Club World Cup were misinterpreted during an interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale. He wrote in a post on X:
"In my interview with Il Giornale, my words about the FIFA Club World Cup have not been interpreted in the way I intended. Nothing could be further from my interest than rejecting the possibility of playing a tournament that I think can be a great opportunity to continue fighting for great titles with Real Madrid."
The FIFA Club World Cup will follow a new format from 2025 with 32 clubs from AFC, CAF, Concacaf, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA participating. 29 sides have already qualified for the tournament, including Los Blancos, who won the UEFA Champions League in 2022 and 2024.
What did Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti say about the Club World Cup?
Carlo Ancelotti, in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale, which was published on Monday, June 10, said (via BBC):
"FIFA can forget it, footballers and clubs will not participate in that tournament. A single Real Madrid match is worth 20 million and Fifa wants to give us that amount for the whole cup. Negative. Like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation."
Manchester City won the last edition of the Club World Cup in December 2023, which was played as per the old format. The new format will have 12 teams from UEFA, six from CONMEBOL, four each from CONCACAF, CAF, and the AFC, one from Oceania's OFC, and one from the host country. The USA will host the 2025 edition of the tournament.