Salzburg rejoices: Bayern success brings ex-friends club a windfall | OneFootball

It wasn’t just Munich who were celebrating this week when they made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League. The champagne corks were certainly popping in Salzburg too. The Austrians have qualified for the new Club World Cup 2025 thanks to Bayern. This secures a considerable financial sum for the former club of sports director Christoph Freund.

Bayern’s triumph over Arsenal was also a cause for celebration in Salzburg. The victory means that the former club of Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund can take a place in the upcoming Club World Cup, which will take place in the USA. This tournament, which will celebrate its premiere in its expanded form, promises considerable income for all participating teams. According to consistent media reports, there is talk of entry fees totalling around 50 million euros. This is an amount that is significantly higher than the income from the Champions League.

The premier league plays a decisive role in qualifying for the Club World Cup. Alongside Atlético Madrid, who also qualified despite losing to BVB, RB Salzburg complete the European field of participants. It consists of a total of twelve teams. Salzburg’s qualification was decided by the assessment of the past four Champions League seasons from 2020 to 2024, in which the best eight teams are invited alongside the winners.

Criticism of the new format of the Club World Cup

Although the new competition offers financial advantages, there are also critical voices. Bayern President Herbert Hainer has already criticised the Club World Cup. The players‘ union Fifpro has also warned against overloading the players. The 2025 Club World Cup could significantly shorten the summer break for many players, especially in view of the upcoming 2024 European Championship and 2026 World Cup.

In addition, the enormous bonuses paid out at the Club World Cup could further increase the financial differences between football clubs. For teams like RB Salzburg in particular, which play outside of Europe’s top 7 leagues, this could present both opportunities and challenges. The league association World League Forum is already criticising a „distortion of the competitive balance“, as such payments could upset the balance in club football.