Players you might not have realised were playing at the Club World Cup | OneFootball

The FIFA Club World Cup is underway, with 32 teams from across the planet vying to win the revamped tournament.

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Some of the biggest teams in the world, like Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich have been competing, but there are also plenty of stars featuring that you may not have even realised…

Al-Hilal

Joao Cancelo – Former Manchester City defender and Portuguese international. The 31-year-old joined the Saudi Pro League side in August 2024.

Kalidou Koulibaly – Former Chelsea and Napoli defender. The 33-year-old Senegal captain joined the Saudi Champions in July 2023.

Renan Lodi – Helped Nottingham Forest to win promotion to the Premier League while on loan from Atletico Madrid. Joined Marseille before joining Al-Hilal six months later.

Ruben Neves – Youngest captain in Champions League history whilst at FC Porto. Led Wolves to Premier League promotion and Europa League qualification.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – Serbian international with 54 caps. Joined from Serie A side Lazio after eight years in the Italian capital.

Malcom – Brazilian international who joined FC Barcelona from French side Bordeaux, before being sold to Russian club Zenit after one season in Spain.

Aleksandar Mitrovic – Broke the record for most goals in a 46-game English league season with 43 during the 2021/22 season. Scored 14 goals in the Premier League in 2022/23 before departing for Saudi Arabia.

Botafogo

Alex Telles – Spent three seasons at Manchester United after joining from FC Porto in October 2020 before spending one season at Al-Nassr in 2023/24. Returned to Brazil in October 2024.

Allan – The former Everton and Napoli midfielder enjoyed ten years in Europe before departing for UAE side Al-Wahda in 2022. Joined Botafogo in July 2024.

Boca Juniors

Sergio Romero – 38-year-old goalkeeper known for his time as David De Gea’s understudy at Manchester United. He was a reliable second choice at Old Trafford and made 96 appearances for Argentina.

Marcos Rojo – Another former Manchester United player. He spent five-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford before transferring back to Argentina in February 2021.

Ander Herrera – The third player in the squad to play for Manchester United. Spent three years at PSG before returning to home town club Athletic Bilbao for a second spell. The 35-year-old joined Boca in January.

Edinson Cavani – Second top goalscorer in PSG’s history, the Uruguayan also had successful spells at Napoli and Manchester United before joining Valencia. The 38-year-old has been at Boca since 2023.

River Plate

Gonzalo Montiel – Scorer of the penalty to win Argentina the World Cup in 2022, Montiel would go onto play a season on loan at Nottingham Forest from Sevilla in 2023/24, before joining Boca in January 2025.

Manuel Lanzini – The 32-year-old spent eight seasons at West Ham United after joining in 2015, winning all five of his caps for Argentina during this time. He rejoined River in 2023, nine years after departing.

CF Monterrey

Sergio Ramos – Winner of four Champions Leagues, a World Cup and two European Championships, Ramos is considered one of the best defenders in football history, while also scoring 101 goals in 671 games for Real Madrid.

Lucas Ocampos – A two-time Europa League winner with Sevilla, the 30-year-old Argentina international departed Spain for Mexico at the beginning of the 2024/25 season.

Pachuca

Salomon Rondon – Played for the likes of Everton, Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion during his time in the Premier League. Become only the second ever player in the league’s history to score a hat-trick of headers in 2017.

Kenedy – Former Chelsea youngster who burst onto the scene in the miserable 2015/16 season. Enjoyed a productive loan spell at Newcastle before struggling for any form after making the move permanent.

Flamengo

Danilo – Moved to Brazil from Italian giants Juventus despite being club captain. Fell out of favour with then manager Thiago Motta. Also played for the likes of Porto, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Alex Sandro – Another former Juventus and Porto player. The left-back joined Flamengo in the summer of 2024.

Jorginho – The newest recruit to the Brazilian side. The Italian terminated his contract at Arsenal early to join up for the tournament.

Filipe Luis [manager] – Former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid left-back. He retired in 2023 before taking over as first team manager in September 2024.

Fluminense

Thiago Silva – The legendary defender returned to Fluminense in July 2024 after 15 years away, having played for the like of AC Milan, PSG and Chelsea.

Inter Miami CF

Jordi Alba – Spain international who joined Miami after 11 years in Barcelona. The 36-year-old is one of four former Barca players playing for the MLS side.

Sergio Busquets – Another member of that iconic Barcelona side. He was known for doing the dirty work to allow Andres Iniesta and Xavi to flourish.

Luis Suarez – Another of Miami’s former Barcelona contingent. The Uruguayan has scored over 550 goals in his 20-year career.

Lionel Messi – One of, if not the greatest of all-time. Over 850 goals in his career with eight Ballon d’Or’s to his name.

LAFC

Hugo Lloris – Former Tottenham goalkeeper joined LA after making 447 appearances for Spurs.

Olivier Giroud – France’s all-time leading goalscorer with 57, Giroud had successful spells at Chelsea and Arsenal after winning the French league with Montpellier in 2012.

Palmeiras

Felipe Anderson – Former Lazio and West Ham winger. The 32-year-old returned Brazil in 2024 after 11 years in Europe.

Seattle Sounders

Ryan Kent – Former Liverpool and Rangers winger Kent joined Sounders in March 2025 after being without a club since leaving Fenerbahce in October 2024.

Wydad AC

Nordin Amrabat – Former Watford winger who recently joined from Championship side Hull City. Brother of former Manchester United midfielder Sofyan.