Manchester City strolled to a 2-0 win over Wydad in their opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup.
A goal from Phil Foden inside just two minutes set the Citizens on their way to victory – an early strike which surely delighted Pep Guardiola – before Jeremy Doku doubled the lead in the 42nd minute.
It puts Manchester City top of Group G – for now at least – before Juventus and Al Ain face off at 02:00 BST.
Not only that, but Manchester City have also received a rather generous amount of prize money from FIFA after defeating Wydad.
Manchester City receive £1.5m after beating Wydad in Philadelphia
Foden – who struggled last season – and Doku have now helped to bank £1.5m in the accounts at the Etihad Stadium.
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FIFA are putting quite substantial amounts of prize money on the table for teams partaking in the Club World Cup, with a sum of £800,000 even presented to those who can only manage to draw a game at the competition.
Group Stage: £1.5m per win (£800,000 for a draw)
Round of 16: £5.8m
Quarter-Final: £10.1m
Semi-Final: £16.2m
Finalist: £23.2m
Winner: £30m
For context, Chelsea – the only other English side at the FIFA Club World Cup with Manchester City – received just £5.9m for winning the UEFA Conference League last season, which is roughly the same sum FIFA will pay out to those who merely progress into the Round of 16.
Amazingly, £1.5m prize money is not even enough to pay Erling Haaland’s salary for three weeks
Manchester City – who could sell Kyle Walker to Everton soon – will hardly be too moved by the £1.5m sum awarded to them, given their vast wealth.
In fact, the £1.5m fee is not even enough to pay Erling Haaland for a mere three weeks.
Capology shows that the Norway international earns £525,000-a-week at Manchester City, although had Wydad even secured a draw in Philadelphia, it would have been quite significant for the Moroccan side.
The Botola Pro outfit’s wage bill is not available online, but the disparity in financial power between themselves and Manchester City is made explicitly clear by the fact this £1.5m sum is actually more than the value of their record signing – Arthur Wenderroscky – who cost €1.5m (£1.3m) when arriving from Fluminense back in September 2024.