Real Madrid will refuse to play in FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup next summer, their coach Carlo Ancelotti has said.
Real had already qualified for the 32-team event in the United States by virtue of winning the 2022 Champions League, a competition they won for a 15th time earlier this month.
However, Ancelotti has cast doubt on their involvement.
“Players and clubs will not participate in that tournament,” Ancelotti told Italian newspaper Il Giornale.
“A single Real Madrid match is worth 20 million (euros) and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the entire cup.
“Like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation.”
Real and FIFA have been contacted for comment by the PA news agency.
The World Leagues Association – which includes the Premier League as a member – and world players’ union FIFPRO last month threatened FIFA with legal action unless the Club World Cup is rescheduled.
They said in a letter to FIFA that the scheduling of the competition would cause “economic harm” to domestic leagues and would push players “beyond their limits”.
FIFA has refused to back down, saying it was “fully within its rights” to set the parameters of the competition.
The Club World Cup does have the backing of the European Club Association (ECA), but Real have not been members of that organisation since the ill-fated formation of the European Super League in April 2021.
