Real Madrid’s potential opponents in the 2025 Club World Cup

Carlo Ancelotti, the club’s greatest statesman, put a foot out of place when the subject of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 emerged last summer.

Real Madrid‘s manager surprisingly admitted in an interview that his team would “decline the invitation” for the new competition as the prize money on offer was too paltry.

The club quickly released an official statement insisting it would do so be part of the tournament before Ancelotti posted a coy message on social media claiming his words had “not been interpreted in the way I expected”.

Like it or not, Ancelotti will be leading his side at the 32-team event in Miami in June. Madrid, twice European champions in the last three years, will be in Pot 1 alongside the other top seeds: three others from Europe and four from South America.

However, there is still the potential for some tricky matches in the group stage of the competition. Here are Madrid’s potential rivals ahead Thursday draw to decide the eight groups of four.

Simply pulling random names out of a hat would be too simple for the powers that be at FIFA. Soccer’s world governing body with a well-deserved reputation for corruption has openly rigged the upcoming draw to ensure elite teams from Europe and South America don’t find themselves in the competition too early.

To avoid facing another UEFA heavyweight in the first knockout round after the group stage, Madrid can only face a select number of clubs in Pot 2. This rules out a potential confrontation with ChelseaBorussia Dortmund, Inter or Porto.

Atlético de Madrid cannot face their city rivals, as the clubs in the same association will remain separate, leaving Madrid with three options; Benfica, Juventus i Red Bull Salzburg.

Salzburg are comfortably the weakest of this trio having fallen off the pace in the Champions League and, for the first time since the energy drink era began, on the domestic scene.

While a clash with Juventus is an attractive historical matchup, Benfica have the creative force of former Madrid player Angel Di Maria.

Pitting clubs from different corners of the world against each other is not a new concept. The Intercontinental Cup lasted more than four decades after the inaugural edition in 1960 saw European champions Real Madrid face then South American champions Uruguay Penarol.

Madrid were the joint record winners of that defunct competition, an honor they share with the Argentine giants. Boca Juniors. The legendary teams could face off in the latest iteration of this global affair.

Saudi League Pro giants Al Hilal They don’t have the same illustrious international history as Madrid or Boca, but they’ve certainly injected enough money to compete with those teams.

Since the summer of 2023, the Riyadh side have splashed out more than £390m on the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ruben Neves and the vague idea of ​​Neymar. Real Madrid have spent less than half that, but should still be favorites against any Pot 3 opponent.

Given the commercial revenue on offer from a game with Lionel Messi, almost every club will want to opt out Inter Miami out of Pot 4. Real Madrid, however, may want to avoid the Argentine.

Messi has scored or created 40 goals in 47 games against Madrid. The Barcelona icon is the most prolific player in the history of The classicwith eight more goals than any of the other legendary individuals who have graced this game. Miami has created its own Barcelona enclave, with Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba all there directed by Javier Mascherano.

Mexican dress Pachuca boasts Salomon Rondon. The Venezuelan veteran is one of only two Premier League players who have scored a hat-trick of headers in a single game, but doesn’t have the same reputation as Messi (for most).

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