Chelsea and Man City set for major £60m FFP boost after Liverpool decision

Manchester City and Chelsea could be in line for a £60million pay-out through their participation in next summer’s Club World Cup, having been chosen to play in the tournament. Liverpool did not meet FIFA’s selection criteria.

European clubs qualify through UEFA coefficient ranking - determined by how well a club does in Europe over the past four seasons. Winning the Champions League in that period almost guarantees participation.

Europe has the most teams involved, with 12 of the 32 spots allocated, but only two clubs per country can qualify. Given Chelsea and Man City are among the last three winning teams of the Champions League, they got the nod over 2022 finalists Liverpool.

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And now, both selected clubs look set to receive around £60m in participation prize money in what is a huge boost to Financial Fair Play spending. Streaming service DAZN has agreed a $1billion (£780m) deal to broadcast all the matches for free next summer.

The Daily Mail says no set figure has been agreed but Chelsea and Man City could be in line for pay-outs topping at £60m, just for being in the competition. For comparison, most top-end clubs make around 10 per cent of that figure during their pre-season tours.

Liverpool can only qualify for the next edition in 2029 by being within the top two highest ranked English teams with UEFA’s coefficient table by 2028. The formerly annual competition is now being spaced out to once every four years.

The tournament, which has brought a lot of controversy, is set to last for 29 days and begins on June 15 with the final being staged on July 13. Games will be played in 12 stadiums across the United States.

The expansion of the format to 32 teams sees the participation of four clubs from Asia, four from Africa, six from South America, one from Oceana, and five from North America (one of which is a host nation slot, in this case Inter Miami). Previously, only seven teams competed for the trophy.

There has been major concern over the risk of player burnout, given the finalists will have to play seven matches during a period normally used for rest. Most clubs begin their pre-seasons in July, allowing for ample rest periods.

But the Club World Cup starts just three weeks after the final day of the Premier League season. If any clubs reach the Champions League final, they will get only two weeks’ break, having already played extra games in Europe amid this season's expanded UEFA competitions.

Player and league unions have launched legal action against FIFA as a result, while a number of the game's stars have spoken out about the increasingly hectic schedule. Liverpool's Alisson has been one of them, as has Man City's Rodri.