Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are among the big names in Thursday's draw, but Barcelona is watching from afar.
The draw for the 'new and improved' 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will take place on Thursday (December 5), with 32 teams taking part in the opening event in the United States between June 15 and July 13 next year. But while Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich will be among the expected participants, LaLiga giants Barcelona will not play.
The Catalans have experienced some turbulent times of late, both on and off the pitch, despite winning LaLiga in 2022/2023. That season, as well as in 2021/22, Barça were eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage, ultimately costing them a place in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.
How did teams qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup?
Qualification for the tournament varies by confederation (UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF, AFC, OFC), although clubs qualified either by winning their confederation's top club competition or by virtue of their ranking within their confederation over the previous four-year period.
Europe provides 12 of the 32 participants, four of which are the winners of the four most recent Champions Leagues (between 2020/21 and 2023/24), while the remaining eight theoretically come from the UEFA club rankings. However, as Real Madrid won the Champions League twice during that time, a ninth European club qualified based on their rankings.
Also important to note is that no more than two clubs from the same country are allowed, unless more than two clubs from that country have won the Champions League in the last four years (which has not happened).
Barcelona's absence from Club World Cup explained
Madrid's Champions League victories allowed only one other Spanish team to qualify from the club rankings, Atlético Madrid. Diego Simeone's team have outperformed Barcelona in European competition over the past four seasons, meaning they are in the hat for the draw and Barça are not.
The fact that Barcelona's club ranking is higher than that of qualified clubs from other countries (Benfica, Juventus, RB Salzburg) is irrelevant due to the two clubs per country rule and the fact that they have not won any of the last four Champions Leagues.
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