Barcelona need a miracle this season in order not to lose more than $50 million

Barcelona's last few seasons were far from competing with the club's golden era, when Pep Guardiola was the coach and Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez shone on the pitch. Those years are in the past and now the reality of the Catalan side is very different.

In the two previous seasons they did not even make it to the round of 16 of the Champions League and then were eliminated early from the UEFA Europa League. This year they fared much better, as they achieved their objective and topped Group H. However, they lost two of their matches in the last 16. However, they lost two of their last three matches, against Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp. And all this may cost them dearly in the future.

In the summer of 2025, the new Club World Cup will be played, which for the first time will have a format with 32 teams from the world's six confederations. Twelve clubs from Europe will qualify, with one limitation: there can be no more than two from each country. On behalf of Spain, Real Madrid have already secured its place as Champions League champions in 2021 and the second team has yet to be confirmed.

There are three teams that can make it: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad. They are competing in the current Champions League and, if any of them win the title, they will secure that place. But if that doesn't happen, the issue will be decided by points. Every match won or drawn in the Champions League awards points, as does every phase in which they advance. And for now Atlético Madrid have the advantage over Barcelona, especially because of their performance during the group stage. Therefore, Los Blaugranas need to go further than Los Colchoneros to overtake them and secure their place in the 2025 tournament.

Big money at stake

The importance of the Club World Cup is not only sporting. In addition to being a tournament that will undoubtedly bring a lot of prestige, it will also distribute a lot of money. Each participating club will receive more than $50 million, while the champion will win more than $100 million.