Man City revived strongly after just a few months - Photo: Reuters
Statistics show that Man City is the team that profits the most from the group stage of the tournament, with 52 million USD (44.5 million euros) in prize money.
Contracts worth the money
That amount is equivalent to 1/3 of Man City's spending on the transfer market in early June, the period when they were racing to welcome 3 expensive new players before participating in the FIFA Club World Cup.
They are Tijjani Reijnders - who moved from AC Milan - for an initial fee of €55m (up to €70m if performance-related add-ons are met), Ait-Nouri (€37m) and Rayan Cherki (€36.5m). That's not counting reserve goalkeeper Bettinelli, who cost €2m. In total, Man City have spent more than €130m in just the first 10 days of the summer transfer window.
But 1/3 of that investment was quickly "recovered". All 3 expensive new recruits mentioned above made their mark in the group stage, helping Man City to comfortably top Group G. 44.5 million euros is just the bonus for the group stage. Just reaching the final, Man City will earn double that number, and winning the championship can help them immediately recover the capital for their lightning-fast transfer period.
The joy of Man City players at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup - Photo: REUTERS
The miraculous revival
Of course, Man City's main target, like any other European giant, is the 2025-2026 season that starts at the end of August, not the FIFA Club World Cup. But having a tournament that can bring them such a huge profit is a great thing for Man City's revival journey. The Etihad team did not buy Cherki, Ait-Nouri and Reijnders because of the FIFA Club World Cup, they were forced to reform the squad after a poor season.
In the past 6 months alone, Man City have spent more than 340 million euros on the transfer market, including 212 million euros to bring in 4 players in the January transfer window (Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Khusanov and Reis), and 4 new players recently in the summer. 8 names appearing in a row in half a year is more than enough for a revolution. Man City may not buy more players in the rest of the summer.
It was a truly lightning-fast and extremely effective investment strategy. Two-four of the winter recruits quickly became pillars, helping Man City successfully finish in the top 5 of the Premier League last season, thereby continuing to win tickets to the Champions League. In a failed season, being able to win tickets to the Champions League is considered a great success for Pep Guardiola and his team.
The way Man City reacted shows why they are the most successful team in the Premier League in the past decade, and also one of the 3 or 4 most successful teams in the world today. Man City does not get caught up in the race to sign superstars, does not take risks with blockbusters, does not waste time on rumors. Most of Man City's transfer strategies only last for 1 week, from the time the media knows the news.
It took a month of winter to minimize the damage of a failed season, 10 days of summer to reform the squad. And another month of hard work in the US to recover all the investment for the summer transfer period, the "giant" Man City has officially returned.
On the morning of July 1 (Vietnam time), there will be two notable matches of the FIFA Club World Cup round of 16, including Inter Milan - Fluminense (2am) and Man City - Al Hilal (8am).
Inter Milan are favourites, but Fluminense are currently unbeaten, with a solid defence that has kept a clean sheet in two of their three group stage matches. The Brazilian teams are even dominating the European group in terms of head-to-head record. Meanwhile, Man City must also be wary of a superstar-filled Al Hilal.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/man-city-hoi-sinh-chi-sau-vai-thang-20250630100915763.htm
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