By Daily Sports Nigeria on July 9, 2025

Much has been made about the vast riches on offer at this year's Club World Cup - and Chelsea are now closing in on the jackpot.

Tuesday's 2-0 win over Fluminense not only saw them book their spot in the final but also pocket almost an extra £22m in prize money.

The Blues will win even more if they are able to beat either Real Madrid or Paris St-Germain on Sunday.

So where does that leave Chelsea's total earnings from the competition? BBC Sport does the sums - and explains how the prize money works.

The potential prize money was initially reported as £97m but the exchange rate between US dollars and British pounds has changed since then, meaning the maximum available was in the region of £92m.

Manchester City were on course to win that, earning the maximum participation fee of £27.8m and winning all of their group games - only to then go out in the last 16.

The participation fee for European teams varies depending on "sporting and commercial criteria".

Chelsea are on the upper end of the scale but do not get quite as much, BBC Sport has been told, meaning the total prize money available to them was slightly lower than for City.

Both teams qualified for the tournament by winning the Champions League in the past four seasons.

Teams from North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania get just under £7m, with South American clubs landing about £11m.

The prize money rises depending how far you go (regardless of which continent you are from).

The total prize pot Fifa has offered is $1bn (£726m), which is believed to be a record amount.

Chelsea's semi-final win over Brazilian side Fluminense takes their total prize pot to about £80m, although Fifa have not confirmed their exact participation fee.

On top of the £21.9m for reaching the final, the Blues will win another £7.3m if they lift the trophy.

Meanwhile, Manchester City's exit means their total earnings ended at £37.8m following their defeat by Al-Hilal.

Joao Pedro, a £60m signing from Brighton, repaid about a third of his transfer fee with his two decisive goals against Fluminense.

But Chelsea's total prize money for the competition would be more than enough to pay for the deal which brought him to the club - with a bit more left over going towards the £30m signing of Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap.

It will also help towards the £29m they will pay for Palmeiras winger Estevao Willian after the Club World Cup, while Jamie Gittens - a £48.5m signing from Dortmund - is another expensive new arrival.

Manchester City paid £31m for Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who assisted a goal in their 5-2 win over Juventus, and that fee was paid off by their earnings - with an extra £7m or so.

To put the total potential prize pot of £91.4m into context, only about 12 transfer fees in football history amount to more.

Favourably - especially when you consider the tournament is 'only' seven games long for the winner.

PSG earned about £95m for winning the Champions League last season, but their campaign was 17 matches in total.

Prize money in the 38-game Premier League is more nuanced and dependant on revenues, but in 2023-24 champions Manchester City took home £175.9m.

At the other end of the scale, Crystal Palace only pocketed £3.9m for winning the FA Cup this year.

That means a team would have to lift the FA Cup 24 times to earn the same amount of prize money as City - who lost to Palace at Wembley - would by winning the Club World Cup.

Speaking in March when the prize fund was first announced, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his squad "don't deserve" to see any of the money on offer.

While City had impressed at the competition prior to their shock exit, it follows a tough and trophyless campaign.

"We don't deserve a bonus this season," said Guardiola. "The bonus, if you win, I don't know how much, it's for the club.

"The managers, the backroom staff, the players, we don't deserve - not even a watch."

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Maresca says he hasn't felt any extra pressure because of the riches on offer.

"The owners just want the best for us and for the players game by game, and they are not talking about the final prize or the final reward in terms of money," said Maresca before their final group game against ES Tunis.

"They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money."

Source BBC Sports

Posted July 9, 2025

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