Manchester City has confirmed its travelling squad to this month’s Club World Cup. Mark your calendars, the tournament will be held the weekend of June 12-13, 2021. The team will be fielding an exciting combination of experienced veterans and up and coming rookies in the tournament. They’re hungry to win their first ever title in this storied tournament. Some major absentees make you wonder about the depth of the squad and their overall strategy.
The squad includes three goalkeepers: Marcus Bettinelli, Stefan Ortega Moreno, and Ederson. The backline with Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, and Rayan Ait-Nouri is bursting with talent. Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, and Abdukodir Khusanov bring even more muscle to the defense. In midfield, [Manchester City] has recruited the deepest talent pool in the world. From Rodri to Ilkay Gundogan to Bernardo Silva to Phil Foden, players are stepping up to help shoulder the responsibility. The imaginative attacking front of Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush has proven lethal too.
Jack Grealish is another notable absentee from the squad, along with injured Mateo Kovacic. Kevin De Bruyne, although under contract to the club until June 30, was left off the squad entirely. For his part, James McAtee has decided to commit himself to England’s Under-21 team this summer.
New Signings Make Their Mark
One of the biggest sources of reason for optimism should stem from their active offseason, including new signings expected to heavily contribute. And goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli comes in to make the squad! So have left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and midfielders Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki. That combination of dynamic new talent combined with game-winning veterans takes pressure off Manchester City’s first-time Champions League campaigners.
Rodri is, meanwhile, pushing his recovery from injury and has been named in the squad with the aim of playing a part. While his return certainly helps solidify depth in the midfield, it poses questions about the fitness of other key players going forward.
“If you win the Premier League, that is worth around £176m. The Champions League, the new format, it’s estimated that you could earn up to £135m, if you win it, but that is for playing up to 15 games, and the Club World Cup £97m.” – Sky Sports
The financial stakes are really, REALLY high!! To compare, FIFA’s Club World Cup lures participants with a participation fee of £406 million ($525 million), with an overall possible prize pool of £774 million ($1 billion). Qualifying teams stand to receive as much as £97 million ($125 million) awarded by FIFA to successful teams.
High Stakes Ahead
Manchester City’s match up against Wydad AC will be their first ever Club World Cup match. The match starts at 5 PM on June 18th. While glory is a highly sought-after prize, this tournament offers up something even more appealing — a life-changing cash prize.
Kaveh Solhekol from Sky Sports News remarked on the lucrative nature of the tournament:
“It’s a lot of money because this is just all four weeks’ work; it’s just for seven games.” – Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol
Alongside the economic windfall, clubs hope to boost their international profile by succeeding in tournaments such as this one. Success in a new prestigious Club World Cup would be another feather in Manchester City’s growing cap, toasting the club’s rise.
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