Real Madrid have confirmed they do plan to compete in FIFA’s new-look Club World Cup next summer, despite their manager Carlo Ancelotti claiming they would boycott the competition.
An expanded 32-team tournament is due to take place in America at the end of the 2024-25 season and, during an interview with interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Ancelotti said the Champions League winners planned to pull out.
Ancelotti explained that a lack of financial incentive was one of the factors, but he has now argued that his words were “not interpreted in the way I intended”.
In a statement, the club wrote: “Real Madrid C.F. announces that at no time has its participation in the new Club World Cup to be organised by FIFA in the next 2024/2025 season been questioned.
“Therefore, our club will compete, as planned, in this official competition that we face with pride and with the utmost enthusiasm to make our millions of fans around the world dream again with a new title.”
Ancelotti’s interview with Il Giornale had raised doubts over Madrid competing in the tournament, which is due to be played across four weeks in the United States from June 15 to July 13.
“FIFA can forget it. Players and clubs will not participate in that tournament,” Ancelotti said in his interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale.
“A single Madrid match is worth €20million and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the entire cup. Negative. Like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation.”
Ancelotti has now moved to clarify his comments, though, and insists he was misunderstood during the interview.
In a statement posted on social media, the Real Madrid manager wrote: “In my interview with Il Giornale, my words about the FIFA Club World Cup were not interpreted in the way I intended.
“Nothing could be further from my interest than to reject the possibility of playing in a tournament that I consider could be a great opportunity to continue fighting for big titles with Real Madrid.”
