Manchester City have been eliminated from the Club World Cup after suffering a shock 4-3 defeat to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal in the first knockout stage.
Pep Guardiola’s men made a fast start at the Camping World Cup Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Bernardo Silva put them into an early lead and they missed presentable chances to go further ahead in a dominant first-half display.
Al-Hilal fought back in the second half, turning the game around and eventually pushing the game to extra time – eventually winning it through Marcos Leonardo in the 112th minute.
How costly is Man City’s elimination? Incredibly costly if you look at the finances. We’ve broken down how much Man City have potentially lost in prize money.
How much did the defeat to Al-Hilal cost them?
Playing four games at the Club World Cup has already been lucrative business for Manchester City, but they haven’t earned nearly as much as they might have out in the United States.
A fortnight’s rest for the players after a gruelling, relentless 2024-25 campaign will be welcome for Guardiola and might benefit the club in the long run next season.
But you imagine those who work in City’s accounts department are ruing a missed opportunity this morning.
In the immediacy, City have missed out on a further £9million in prize money had they made it to the last eight.
“It is a pity. We have been on incredible journey together and were in a good place. The vibe was really good,” Guardiola responded.
“I cannot thank the players enough for training and playing how they have been.
“But it was a difficult game. The margins were minimal. We created a lot and [Yassine] Bounou made incredible saves – but we were so open.
“We would have loved to have continued. It will only be once every four years, and we had a feeling that the team was doing well. But we go home and now it is time to rest – rest our minds for the new season.”
How much could it cost them in the long run?
Before kick-off against Al-Hilal, Manchester City were the overwhelming favourites to reach the final from this side of the draw.
PSG, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are on the other side of a fairly lopsided knockout-stage bracket.
City were bunched with some of the surprise packages from outside Europe – Al-Hilal first up, what would’ve been Fluminense in the quarter-finals followed by Chelsea or Palmeiras in the semis.
An all-English clash in the semis appeared the likeliest outcome, but City would’ve fancied their chances against Enzo Maresca’s Blues in a potential semi-final.
Even amid their struggles last season, City completed a comfortable league double over Chelsea. Since the Champions League final defeat in 2021, City have gone 11 matches unbeaten (nine wins, two draws) against the London side.
With a favourable tie against Fluminense in the quarters, City have missed out on a further £16.2million by not making it to the final four. And they would’ve received an extra £23.2million had they made it all the way to the New Jersey final on July 13th.
Winning the entire thing? A whopping £30million.
Add that all together and City have left up to £78million on the table by exiting the competition so early.
To put that in context, City have invested an estimated £109million in their three summer signings Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders.
Winning the Club World Cup would’ve effectively paid off that spending spree if you take into account the £37.8million that City have already earned from participation in the group stage and progress into the last 16.
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