The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has attracted significant attention by offering a total prize purse of $1 billion (about 1.4 trillion won) for the newly expanded Club World Cup in 2025, with the club that earned the most revenue being the 'champion' Chelsea (England).
Chelsea won 3-0 against Paris Saint-Germain (France) in the 2025 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Club World Cup final held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on the 14th (Korea time). They earned a total of £84 million (about 156.2 billion won), including the champion prize.
A total of 32 clubs participated in this tournament. FIFA allocated the $1 billion prize fund as $525 million (about 724 billion won) for participation compensation and $475 million (about 655.1 billion won) for performance-based prizes.
Participation compensation was distributed based on continental affiliation and UEFA club coefficient rankings. European clubs received between $12.81 million (about 17.6 billion won) and $38.19 million (about 52.6 billion won). South American clubs received $15.21 million (about 20.9 billion won), while Asian, African, North American, and Oceanian clubs received $9.55 million (about 13.1 billion won).
The club with the highest revenue was indeed Chelsea, which took home a total of £84 million. The runner-up Paris Saint-Germain received £78.4 million (about 145.8 billion won), while Real Madrid secured £67 million (about 124.6 billion won). However, this was only about 4% of Real Madrid's annual club revenue of £909 million (about 1.6794 trillion won).
There was also a team that recorded dramatic changes in revenue. Auckland City from New Zealand, despite losing all their group stage matches, earned £3.3 million (about 6.1 billion won). This amount is seven times the club's total revenue of £488,000 (about 900 million won) in 2024. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire noted, "The prize money received by Auckland City could shake the competitive balance within the league," and added, "If the funds are invested in acquiring players, the gap in strength compared to other clubs in New Zealand will widen."
This tournament has had direct impacts on the transfer market as well. Borussia Dortmund (Germany) secured £57.9 million (about 107.7 billion won) by reaching the quarterfinals, which is equivalent to 65% of their summer transfer budget. They covered the transfer fee of £27 million (about 50.2 billion won) for Jude Bellingham acquired from Sunderland with the tournament prize money.
Chelsea also supplemented its finances through the tournament's revenue. They spent a total of £198 million (about 368.3 billion won) in the summer transfer market but filled this gap with the £84 million (about 156.2 billion won) from the Club World Cup revenue. Manchester City earned £38 million (about 70.6 billion won) despite being eliminated in the round of 16, offsetting the transfer fee of £31 million (about 57.6 billion won) for Raheem Sterling brought in from Wolverhampton.
Real Madrid made an early acquisition of Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool for £8.4 million (about 15.6 billion won) for this tournament. This acquisition cost was recouped in just three matches in the tournament.
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