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Man United and Man City are set to benefit from a FIFA World Cup scheme ahead of the tournament at the end of the season.
Ruben Amorim also spent big at Man United this summer, with over £215m in expenditure on new players, which came as a surprise as it was understood that United didn’t have a lot of money to spend over the summer this year.
It means that both teams will want to recoup some of their spending with player sales and various other revenue drivers, but a chance has emerged for both clubs as FIFA has made a decision ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
FIFA increase club benefits to £260 million
Since 2010, FIFA has a scheme that involves paying clubs a share of a large pot of money, which is a reward/compensation for those clubs having at least one of their players playing in the World Cup.
Following the 2022 World Cup, £153m was paid out to clubs who had players representing their countries during the World Cup in Qatar. However, in 2023, FIFA confirmed that the pot has been increased by 70% ahead of the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada starting at the end of the season.
This means that there will be a record £260m distributed, and the fee will apply to any team that has seen one of their players leave for World Cup qualifying or for the tournament itself. This also applies regardless of whether said player or players actually make an appearance for their national teams; they just need to receive a call-up.
How much could Man City and Man United get?
Both Manchester clubs are sure of getting a chunk of the £260m pot for the 2026 World Cup. However, how much could they actually get?
Based on the 2022 World Cup, 440 clubs split the £153m share, so based on the fact that the pot this year will be £260m, that would amount to around £591,000, which is certainly a decent chunk of windfall for any club, especially a couple of teams with heavy wage bills like Man City and Man United.
However, the fact that this year, the pot will also be distributed to clubs who have seen players leave for qualifying too, the number of clubs is expected to increase significantly, which will reduce the amount that each club is due to receive.
If, hypothetically, there are 500 clubs involved in the scheme rather than 440, that would see each club get around £520,000, which is still a solid chunk of money for any club to get. It will affect smaller clubs more than the likes of United and City, but any windfall is a good windfall. The pot will not be shared equally but will also consider how many players have left from each club for the World Cup - so both United and City can expect a larger share given the number of internationals in their respective squads.
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