Real Madrid could be replaced by La Liga rivals if they boycott FIFA Club World Cup: Reports
Football's governing body FIFA could reportedly replace Spanish giants Real Madrid with their arch-rivals Barcelona if Carlo Ancelotti's side decides to boycott the Club World Cup. According to Relevo, such extreme measures might be considered by the organizers of the competition after the 65-year-old's recent comments.
In a recent interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Ancelotti expressed his displeasure over the unfair remuneration offered by FIFA for his side's participation. He had said:
"Players and clubs will not participate in that tournament. A single Madrid game is worth €20 million and FIFA wants to give us that figure for the entire tournament. Like us, several clubs will decline the invitation."
The 2025 Club World Cup is set to be hosted in the United States of America and will feature an entirely new format. It will be contested by 32 teams over an entire month at the end of the 2024-25 league campaigns.
There have been rising concerns about the fixture congestion in modern football, which has led to increased injury frequency and severity. With the new Club World Cup format, players could be playing up to 72 games from the 2024-25 season onwards, which has also caused displeasure within Real Madrid's camp.
Barcelona missed out on qualification to the tournament after their 6-4 aggregate loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals. Atletico Madrid qualified over Barca due to their higher UEFA ranking coefficient over the last four years.
However, after Real Madrid's unwillingness to participate has come to light, the Catalans have been afforded a lifeline back into the competition. According to Relevo, FIFA will be considering replacing one El Clasico rival for another, which would go a long way towards solving the Blaugrana's financial woes.
Liverpool or Ajax could also be potential replacements for Real Madrid at the Club World Cup
After Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti announced that his side will withdraw from the Club World Cup due to financial reasons, FIFA have been mulling over a potential replacement.
Barcelona, the club with the third-highest UEFA ranking coefficient in Spain over the last three years, has been mooted as an option. However, Premier League giants Liverpool are the highest-placed European team not among the current participants at the 2025 edition.
The 2018-19 Champions League winners currently sit in fifth place on the UEFA club rankings with 114 coefficient points (94 over the last four seasons). Chelsea's UCL triumph in 2020-21 earned them direct entry into the tournament despite a lower ranking coefficient.
Liverpool missed out due to the rule of a maximum of two teams from the same country being allowed to participate (the other English team being Manchester City).
Meanwhile, Dutch giants Ajax are also being considered as a potential replacement, having amassed 62 points over the last four campaigns. They are the highest-ranked European side (24th) outside of the seven nations that already have representatives at the tournament.