Manchester United have received the third most money of the $27 million (£21.9m) paid out to Premier League clubs by FIFA as compensation for the World Cup.
FIFA pay clubs every day that one of their players is away representing their countries during the tournament through their Club Benefits Programme. The scheme, launched in 2010, was designed to compensate clubs for releasing their players.
United had 16 players in Qatar, with both Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane reaching the final with Argentina and France respectively. The club has already pocketed millions, with the two centre-backs accounting for a substantial amount of the total pot.
A statement from FIFA read : “As part of its commitment to recognise the contribution that football clubs make to the successful staging of the FIFA World Cup, today FIFA started the application process for its Club Benefit Programme that will see $209 million (£171.4 million) distributed to clubs across the world. This initiative already saw 416 clubs from 63 member associations benefiting from the same amount following the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
“For the first time, clubs will be able to apply digitally through the FIFA Professional Football Landscape platform with approximately $10,000 (£8,202) to be received for each one of the days the relevant player remains with his national team during the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the official preparation period. The compensation will be paid to all clubs for which the footballer has played in the two years prior to the FIFA World Cup 2022.”
Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Cristiano Ronaldo, Fred, Casemiro, Antony, Alex Telles, Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Facundo Pellistri, Hannibal Mejbri – as well as Martinez and Varane – were all named in their respective countries’ squads and competed until at least the end of the group stage.
Ronaldo is still included in the list despite his departure from Old Trafford just six days into the tournament as it’s stated that “compensation will be paid to all clubs for which the footballer has played in the two years prior.” As a result, United should also benefit from Daniel James and Edinson Cavani’s participation in the tournament which ended at the group stage for Wales and Uruguay respectively.
With the tournament reaching its conclusion, the final figures have now been revealed, as United pocketed the third most of any Premier League club.
Final compensation received by Premier League clubs for the World Cup
Manchester City – $4m
Chelsea – $2.86m
Manchester United – $2.65m
Tottenham – $2.4m
Liverpool – $1.8m
Arsenal – $1.57m
Wolves – $1.54m
Leicester – $1.4m
Brighton – $1.35m
Fulham – £1.3m
Brentford – $1.1m
West Ham – $1m
Newcastle – $900,000
Aston Villa – $810,000
Everton – $690,000
Crystal Palace – $650,000
Leeds – $620,000
Nottingham Forest – $480,000
Southampton – $420,000
*Courtesy: MEN
