The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup features 32 qualified teams from across the globe, but Barcelona is not one of them.
The newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup allowed teams from AFC, CAF, Concacaf, OFC and UEFA to earn a spot in this summer's competition, unfolding throughout the United States. Of the 32 qualified teams, 12 are from Europe, including the three most recent UEFA Champions League winners: Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea.
The nine remaining European teams were determined by a raking system that took into account results over the last four seasons. The major caveat, though, is only two teams per country can qualify for the competition. Real Madrid's two Champions League titles in 2022 and 2024 automatically secured a FIFA Club World Cup berth for Los Blancos.
Therefore, just one more team from Spain can participate in the tournament and based on UEFA Champions League results, Atlético Madrid outranked Barcelona. The Catalans might have won La Liga in 2023, but they exited the European tournament in the group stage in 2022 and 2023. Barcelona also only made it to the round of 16 the year prior.
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Atlético Madrid has a group stage exit and round of 16 exit on its resume over the last four years as well, but the club also made the quarterfinals in both 2022 and 2024. Diego Simeone's men did just enough to punch their ticket to the United States this summer.
In theory, a competition highlighting the best clubs in the world should include Barcelona, but the tournament rule excluding more than two clubs per country worked against the Spanish giants.
The same rule notably prevented Liverpool from qualifying for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Since Manchester City and Chelsea automatically qualified as UEFA Champions League winners, another club from England was not permitted to play in the tournament.
Check out all 32 qualified teams here ahead of the competition's opening match on June 15, 2025.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Barcelona Isn't Playing in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
