Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola will hope to win the Club World Cup this June and July in an effort to raise up to £97million for transfers
Chelsea and Manchester City are eyeing success at the Club World Cup as they look to secure close to £100million in prize money to aid their transfer business. The new and expanded Club World Cup gets underway on June 15 and concludes on July 13, with a whopping £775m prize fund set to be shared between all 32 teams.
The tournament was previously contested by seven teams annually but will now take place every four years. Premier League giants Chelsea and City have qualified thanks to their success in winning the 2021 and 2023 Champions League, respectively.
Other European teams have qualified through a UEFA ranking system based on their performances over the last four seasons.
A whopping £407m will be divided between all participating clubs while an additional £368m will be awarded on a performance-related basis. That means Chelsea and City can rake in up to £97m should they go all the way and win the competition.
That sum will go a long way to boosting their finances and potentially their transfers this summer, as both clubs look to challenge for the Premier League title next season.
Pep Guardiola’s City have wasted no time in the transfer window even before receiving their Club World Cup windfall. The eight-time Premier League champions, having already spent £180m in January, have now wrapped up the signings of Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki and Marcus Bettinelli.
Midfielder Reijnders was signed from AC Milan for just over £46m this week, following the arrival of left-back Ait-Nouri from Wolves for £31m and Lyon’s maverick playmaker Cherki for £34m. Bettinelli arrived from Chelsea for a ‘nominal’ transfer fee.
City have now also sealed their fifth signing of the window by agreeing a £12.5million deal for Sverre Nypan from Rosenborg. The Norway U21 international, who has been dubbed as the ‘next Martin Odegaard’, could immediately leave the side on loan to boost his development.
Meanwhile, rivals Chelsea have also been aggressive in the transfer market despite their recent PSR issues, which they hope the Club World Cup will alleviate.
Estevao Willian, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez have all already been brought in, though it has been reported that Ecuadorian teenager Paez is set to move to Strasbourg on a season-long loan deal as the Blues look to hand him some valuable first team experience.
Chelsea are not done yet, either, with reports linking them with efforts to sign Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens, Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike and Athletic Club’s Nico Williams.
The Blues made a formal bid of over £42m to sign Gittens last week which was rejected, though the former City academy starlet is reportedly keen to join the Londoners and is said to have agreed personal terms until 2032.
Negotiations are expected to continue beyond the Club World Cup, meaning a successful tournament could boost Chelsea’s transfer budget and therefore their chances of signing him.
Frankfurt, meanwhile, want around £85m for Frenchman Ekitike. Chelsea are not yet believed to have lodged a bid, having only enquired about a deal two weeks ago.
DAZN has the rights to the full competition in the UK and the only way football fans can watch every game of the tournament free is by signing up here as part of a DAZN Freemium subscription.
Watch the Club World Cup free on DAZN
The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world’s best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13.
Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.
