Man City might be about to break even on £110m spending spree

Man City might be about to break even on £110m spending spree

Manchester City have spent around £110million so far this summer but they are being handed an unprecedented chance to recoup most of that over the next month.

Tijjani Reijnders is the most expensive of City's four pre-Club World Cup signings

The Manchester City new boys in the Club World Cup squad can help pay down the first instalment of the £110million June spending spree tomorrow night.

Director of football Hugo Viana made a swift beginning to life in his new role, helping City get deals over the line for Marcus Bettinelli, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki before the first deadline of the summer. All four were registered in time to feature in the Club World Cup.

Now comes the time to swell the coffers and see just how much of that £110million investment can be recouped over the next month. The Club World Cup might have its detractors, but none of the bean counters at any of the 32 clubs involved will have a bad word to say about it.

That's because the prize money on offer is astronomical. There is a debate about the distorting effect it could have on the football landscape, particularly in countries where the kind of money being handed out can give teams a competitive advantage that it's almost impossible to squander.

This tournament is the baby of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and he has ensured that the prize pot is sizeable enough to attract the attention of the big clubs involved.

“The distribution model of the FIFA Club World Cup reflects the pinnacle of club football and represents the biggest-ever prize money for a football tournament comprising a seven-match group stage and playoff format with a potential payout of USD 125 million foreseen for the winners,” said Infantino, barely pausing for breath amid his own excitement.

What that means for City is an early chance to balance the books ahead of the remainder of the transfer window. If they get their campaign off to a winning start against Wydad AC in Philadelphia on Wednesday, they will bank around £1.5million.

Watch the Club World Cup free on DAZN £0 DAZN Get DAZN here Product Description The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world's best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13. Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.

That is the sum available for a win in the group stage, and with Wydad AC and Al Ain first up for the Blues, it should be a relatively easy route to £3million. A draw is worth £750,000, and City will look to top up their winnings against Juventus in the final three group games.

The prize money only gets higher as the competition progresses. There is £5.5million for reaching the last-16 and another £9.5million for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Reach the final week of the tournament in New York, and there is £15.5million for a spot in the semi-finals. Around £22million will go to the runner-up and £29.5million to the winner.

That could mean the Club World Cup winners take home around £76million in prize money before their participation fee is factored in. While these are yet to be revealed, for European teams, they will be between £9.4million and £28.1million. The final fee will be determined by what FIFA says is a ranking based on "sporting and commercial criteria."

So it's fair to assume that if City were to go on and win the tournament, they would bring in a fee of around £100million. That would almost instantly see them break even and the summer spending so far. From an accounting point of view, that is quite an incentive.

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