Atletico Madrid suffers 10.2 billion won loss after shock elimination from Club World Cup

Despite achieving 2 wins, they were eliminated from the group stage. The 'La Liga powerhouse' Atletico Madrid could not avoid humiliation.

Atletico defeated Botafogo (Brazil) 1-0 in the third match of Group B of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, held on the 24th (Korean time) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, United States.

With this, Atletico finished the group stage with 2 wins, 1 loss, and 6 points. In the first match, they suffered a heavy defeat of 0-4 against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), but then defeated Seattle Sounders (United States) and Botafogo 3-1 and 1-0, respectively.

Nevertheless, Atletico failed to advance to the round of 16 and began their journey home. The bottom-ranked Seattle recorded three straight losses, and PSG's unexpected defeat to Botafogo led to PSG, Atletico, and Botafogo all finishing with 6 points, tying.

Atletico became the victim of the winner's rule. Although the points from the head-to-head matches among the three teams were equal at 3, PSG took first place with a goal difference of +3, Botafogo took second place with 0, and Atletico was last with -3. For Atletico, the shocking defeat against PSG, along with PSG's loss to Botafogo, was catastrophic. Ultimately, the teams advancing to the round of 16 were PSG in first place and Botafogo in second place.

For Atletico to reach the round of 16, they needed a victory by more than three goals against Botafogo. Head coach Diego Simeone deployed a two-top formation with Julian Alvarez and Alexander Isak and brought in 'veteran' Antoine Griezmann at the start of the second half. Following that, he mobilized all offensive resources, including Angel Correa and Samuel Lino.

However, Botafogo's defense was solid. Atletico opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with Griezmann's goal, but there wasn't enough time to create two more goals. On that day, Atletico attempted 23 shots but managed only one goal.

In the end, the ticket to the round of 16 went to Botafogo, not Atletico. For Atletico, there were other teams from different groups that advanced to the round of 16 with 1 win and 2 draws, making this result even more painful.

After the match, Coach Simeone could not hide his dissatisfaction. Having protested the referee's decisions since the first match, he noted, "The referee's decisions were not in our favor. Of course, this is also part of football," adding, "I am very sad about being eliminated. We aimed for the championship but came up short in a tough group, finishing with 6 points and falling behind on goal difference. It breaks my heart."

The financial loss is also significant. According to Spain's AS, Atletico earned about 23 million euros (approximately 36.3 billion won) through the base prize and bonuses for the 2 wins in this tournament. However, they missed out on an additional prize of 6.47 million euros (approximately 10.2 billion won) that they could have received just for advancing to the round of 16.

The media noted, "The quarterfinal prize is 11.33 million euros (approximately 17.9 billion won), the semifinal prize is 18.12 million euros (approximately 28.6 billion won), the runner-up prize is 25.89 million euros (approximately 40.8 billion won), and the championship prize is 34.51 million euros (approximately 54.4 billion won). Although Atletico, having been eliminated in the group stage, collected a substantial amount, it falls far from the positive scenario they had imagined."

For Atletico, who desperately needed to reinforce their squad this summer, the disappointment is even greater. Currently, Atletico needs to acquire a side defender, a defensive midfielder, and a center-back.

Atletico, aiming to strengthen their squad based on the Club World Cup prize money, has seen their plans derail. Spain's Marca reported, "Atletico returned with far less prize money than expected due to early elimination. Financial damage is inevitable."

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