Real Madrid has formally declared its participation in FIFA’s enlarged Club World Cup, following the misinterpretation of Carlo Ancelotti’s remarks regarding the competition.
Following Ancelotti’s comments to the Italian daily Il Giornale, in which he felt FIFA had underestimated the compensation Los Blancos should receive for participating in the redesigned 32-team tournament next year, the freshly crowned Champions League winners made a statement on Monday.
Ancelotti was cited as stating, “FIFA can forget it, footballers and clubs will not participate in that tournament.”
On Monday, the Italian took to social media to disassociate himself from those remarks.
“Nothing could be further from my interest than to reject the possibility of playing in a tournament that I consider to be a great opportunity to continue fighting for major titles with Real Madrid,” Ancelotti posted to Instagram.
In response to the controversy, Real Madrid C.F. swiftly released a statement that said, “At no point has its participation in the new Club World Cup, to be organized by FIFA in the upcoming 2024-2025 season, been questioned.
“Therefore, our club will play, as planned, this official competition that we face with pride and with the utmost enthusiasm to make our millions of fans around the world dream again of a new title.”
By the end of the following season, 32 teams will be able to compete in the United States thanks to the expansion of the league.
Teams from six federations will compete in it; Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Madrid have already qualified thanks to their prior success on the European and international stages.
