Chapter 893 - 7: Million-Euro Bonus
Real Madrid places great importance on the reformed FIFA Club World Cup—should they win, Real Madrid could receive around 140 million Euros in prize money, with each player getting a hefty 1 million Euros reward!
Real Madrid’s 2024-25 season wasn’t successful, failing to win the Champions League, La Liga, or the King’s Cup.
The upcoming FIFA Club World Cup excites the entire Real Madrid team.
Diario AS states that Real Madrid believes that winning the FIFA Club World Cup would define this season as successful.
Xabi Alonso has just taken over as the head coach of Real Madrid, with his debut being the FIFA Club World Cup.
Alonso frankly stated, "This is the first FIFA Club World Cup with 32 teams participating, and we are eager for the championship. Perhaps, this will be a great beginning—I am here for victory and titles."
Real Madrid regards the FIFA Club World Cup as a top priority, believing that the outside world hasn’t fully realized its significance—it’s a landmark event akin to the birth of the European Champions Cup in 1956. If Real Madrid wins the reformed first FIFA Club World Cup, they will surely go down in history.
So how will Florentino motivate Real Madrid players? The simplest and most straightforward way: substantial rewards.
Diario AS reveals that Real Madrid has set the FIFA Club World Cup prize money at the same level as the Champions League. If Real Madrid wins the FIFA Club World Cup, each player can receive a significant pre-tax reward of 1 million Euros! With 23 players in Real Madrid’s first team, the prize money alone would cost 23 million Euros.
The FIFA Club World Cup offers generous prize money, as Diario AS revealed (priced in USD):
A top club like Real Madrid receives a participation fee of 38 million USD.
In the group stage, a win earns 2 million USD, a draw 1 million USD; advancing to the round of 16 earns 7.5 million USD, reaching the quarterfinals 13.15 million USD, advancing to the semifinals earns an additional 21 million USD, the champion team 40 million USD, the runner-up 30 million USD.
Diario AS points out that including TV broadcast revenue and other income, if Real Madrid wins, the total prize money could reach 140 million Euros.
Real Madrid needs the FIFA Club World Cup honors to achieve the "King of Kings" status; they also need over 100 million Euros in prize money to stir the summer transfer market.
After securing Dean Hughes, Arnold, and Alvaro Carreras, Real Madrid still wants to recruit a playmaking midfielder.
The higher the FIFA Club World Cup prize money, the more confident Real Madrid is in making signings.
On June 15, 2025, the FIFA Club World Cup will kick off, and according to the latest odds, Real Madrid, which missed all four major titles in the 2024-25 season, is the top favorite to win, followed by Manchester City, which also missed out on the same titles, while Paris Saint-Germain, who recently made history by winning the Triple Crown, ranks fourth. Inter, which lost 0-5 in the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain and also missed out on all four major titles, ranks fifth.
The Real Madrid that Xabi Alonso inherited is essentially Ancelotti’s squad from last season, and it’s riddled with injuries, with almost no healthy defenders. What are they relying on to win the FIFA Club World Cup? Just the fact that Alonso is coaching?
Or is it depending on Chen Zhong to explode in this tournament?
According to Marca, Real Madrid will still play with a 433 formation in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Alonso played with a three-center-back system at Bayer Leverkusen and considered using three center-backs at Real Madrid, but currently, with Eder Militao, Rudiger, and Alaba injured, a three-center-back formation is out of the question.
The formation doesn’t change, but the tactics will—everyone will defend: all three forwards must defend!
"The team can afford one player not participating in defense, but absolutely not three or even four players." Alonso sent a clear message to the entire team through Marca. This season, Real Madrid has crumbled multiple times due to insufficient defensive involvement from the players, which has hit Alonso’s tactical baseline.
His assistant, match analyst Benat Labaen, has started dissecting match videos to diagnose chronic issues from a behavioral attitude perspective.
The forward line players become the primary target in this defensive revolution.
Alonso clearly demands that all three forwards must participate in tracking back, establishing a whole-team cooperative defense system. The most noteworthy measure is his plan to have a specialized meeting with Vinicius, emphasizing that the Brazil forward needs to "sacrifice for the team while showcasing his offensive talents."
This not only concerns tactical discipline, but also suggests a shift in frontline role positioning—Vinicius may need to cede the central space, returning to the flank pivot position, seeking a new balance between offensive duties and defensive responsibilities.
Choosing the 433 formation is no stopgap measure; it embodies Alonso’s profound understanding of modern football.
This formation has been the making of Klopp’s Liverpool, Guardiola’s Barca, and Real Madrid during the BBC era, with its core advantages lying in space creation and attack-defense flexibility. Removing the traditional No. 10 position frees up space, allowing two No. 8 midfielders to have more freedom to advance while creating conditions for the wingers to move inside and the center forward to drop back. In Alonso’s plan, Bellingham is expected to play the role of an attacking No. 8, while Arnold, if he joins, could strengthen the right-wing attack-defense transition as a "side defensive midfielder."
When Mbappe, Vinicius, and Bellingham are on the frontline together, Alonso’s 433 indeed conceals the defensive mystery of a 451. The essence of "allowing one not to defend" is a tactical privilege tilted towards Mbappe—Vinicius and Bellingham need to retreat deeply, forming a five-man midfield defensive network.
The key to success, however, hinges on Mbappe’s evolution: if he continues his habit of static waiting, he will not only encroach on Vinicius’s wing breakthrough space but could also block Bellingham’s forward channel, replaying the stagnant offensive in some games this season.