FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final sketches 'golden era' of FIFA President

FIFA President Gianni Infantino confidently declared that the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is the premise for the golden era of world football. The final between Chelsea and PSG is representative of what is happening and what will happen.

Ahead of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final, FIFA President Gianni Infantino appeared before the media at Trump Tower and revealed that many big clubs had called him to ask about how to participate in the tournament. "Every tournament has its own criteria and qualifying rounds to overcome, but I really look forward to the participation of MU, Liverpool, Barca, Tottenham, Napoli or Milan...", Infantino said.

Having repeatedly described the 2025 Club World Cup as bringing together " the world's 32 best teams", the FIFA President is of course keen to bring together the top names in world football to increase the quality, stature and prestige of the tournament. However, this does not mean he is in favour of an all-European final - as if the Champions League had been expanded.

It would be better if the final were played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, between a European team and a South American team, rather than Chelsea and PSG. In creating the new Club World Cup, Infantino emphasized the global scope of the tournament, with clubs from all over the world making for a colorful celebration.

PSG and Chelsea will face off in the 2025 Club World Cup final.

Infantino has previously spoken of FIFA's mission to "develop football worldwide" and hopes that "along with the development of European football, clubs outside Europe will also progress, ready to compete with the Old Continent". There is also the economic aspect. A global tournament certainly attracts investors from around the world who are pouring billions of dollars into European football.

The 2025 Club World Cup proved that, with FIFA raising a prize fund of up to a billion dollars. And it was at Trump Tower that Infantino proudly announced the tournament's revenue of up to 2.08 billion dollars, equivalent to a match worth 30.4 million dollars.

So where does this huge revenue come from? The answer is the US and the Middle East. It includes major commercial deals with US companies such as Coca Cola, Visa and Bank of America, alongside Qatar Airways and the PIF (Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund). There is also a TV rights deal with DAZN, a US-based broadcaster partly owned by SURJ Sports Investment, a subsidiary of the PIF.

Chelsea is owned by a private American company.

Coincidentally, the two teams that will play in the 2025 Club World Cup final are Chelsea and PSG, a product of American and Middle Eastern ownership. After billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea in 2022, the new owners of the team are Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital from the US. PSG, on the other hand, has been under the control of the Qatar Public Investment Fund since 2011.

Over the past decade, Chelsea and PSG have been two of the three biggest net spenders in world football. Under their American owners, the Blues have spent €1.68bn in the last three years. They have spent an average of €536.6m per season, with two records set: €121m for Enzo Fernandez and €116m for Caicedo. During the Club World Cup, the Blues also introduced a €70m signing in Joao Pedro.

PSG are not far behind. Since the Qataris arrived in Paris, the French club have spent €2.283 billion, or €163 million per season. The €222 million signing of Neymar from Barca also changed the global transfer market forever, pushing player prices to unprecedented levels.

PSG was upgraded with backing from the Qatar Public Investment Fund.

Chelsea and PSG have proven that money can change a club's fortunes. At the same time, both are an emphasis that, although Europe remains the centre of world football, the football economy revolves around the US and the Middle East.

No wonder Infantino arrived late to the FIFA Congress in Asuncion, Paraguay, in May, despite the anger of UEFA delegates. He had been busy attending a series of events and summits with US President Donald Trump in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. There, the FIFA President spoke of “huge untapped potential” and urged these countries to continue “investing in this great sport , because it is the best investment you can make.”

According to President Infantino, the 24-carat gold-plated Club World Cup trophy represents the golden era of world football, an era that is certainly linked to the flow of money from the US and the Middle East.

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Source: https://tienphong.vn/chung-ket-fifa-club-world-cup-2025-phac-hoa-ky-nguyen-vang-cua-chu-tich-fifa-post1759858.tpo