From Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr to Man United and Barca: Who should replace Club Leon at Club World Cup?

FIFA is reportedly considering MLS’ LAFC and Mexico’s Club America as the Club World Cup replacement for Club Leon, who were removed from the competition earlier this month after they were found to be in violation of competition rules.

LAFC is in the mix to enter the Club World Cup, per ESPN, after losing to Club Leon in the final of the 2023 Concacaf Champions League, which is how Club Leon qualified for the competition. Club America, meanwhile, are the highest-ranked Concacaf team that are not already part of the 32-team field for the Club World Cup and are also under consideration for the empty slot. FIFA is contemplating the idea of a one-game playoff between LAFC and Club America for that spot, though it is unclear if the plans are locked in at this time.

Club Leon were kicked out of this summer’s Club World Cup after Costa Rica’s Alajuelense submitted a complaint in February to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that the Mexican side were in violation of competition rules around ownership. Two clubs that share an ownership group are not allowed to take part in the Club World Cup and after realizing that Club Leon were owned by Grupo Pachuca, which also owns Pachuca, FIFA decided on March 23 to boot Club Leon out of the competition.

The Mexican club have since filed an appeal to CAS, who will hear their argument on April 23 in Madrid. LAFC and Club America now need to collect their own legal documents by Wednesday before making their arguments during the CAS proceedings, while Alajuelense will also be present to make their own case. FIFA will not act upon its plans to replace Club Leon until CAS’ process is complete.

Whichever team makes the cut for the Club World Cup will be scheduled to face England’s Chelsea, Tunisia’s Esperance de Tunis and Brazil’s Flamengo in the group stage in June.

As FIFA continues to navigate the situation, here’s a look at the realistic – and not-so-realistic – options to fill that final spot at the Club World Cup.

LAFC

Let’s get the easy one out of the way – if Club Leon qualified by winning the 2023 Concacaf Champions League, there’s a very reasonable argument to be made that the runners-up of that competition, LAFC, should get the slot instead.

Club America

Now for the fairly easy but somewhat complicated pick. FIFA has used a four-year ranking in several confederations to determine some of the entries for the Club World Cup, which have not necessarily corresponded with the rankings the individual confederations have compiled but has not really been questioned. FIFA could borrow from Concacaf’s rankings, and if they did, they would find that Club America is the highest-ranked team there that has not currently qualified for the competition. Head coach Andre Jardine is conflicted about his team’s participation, though.

“León should go to the Club World Cup. I’m sad for the institution, and I’d like them to find a solution so they can go,” Jardine said, per ESPN. “If it doesn’t happen, then América has been doing things well for a long time. It’s true that they haven’t yet won the Concacaf Champions Cup, which is a dream of ours and a very clear objective. We’re leading most of the Mexican tournaments, and the Concacaf ranking, which is one of the criteria. If you ask me if I want to go to the Club World Cup, of course it’s true, but I’d like to go to the Club World Cup by achieving it on the field. That’s what we’re working towards.”

Club Leon

Of course, there’s also the chance that Club Leon win their appeal and this whole saga becomes somewhat irrelevant. How likely that is, though, remains to be seen since article 10 of FIFA’s Club World Cup ownership rules are pretty clear – “No person or legal entity may control or exert influence over more than one club participating in the competition.” Though the appeal will not be heard by CAS for another few weeks, Club Leon have already laid out the basics of their argument.

“We do not agree with this decision, which we will apply until the last instances with the highest sport authorities, since all the proof and documentation shows our administrative and sporting independence were presented with full opportunity and transparency,” Club Leon said in a statement issued in response to their expulsion. “We will defend what we earned on the field in a fair and professional way, by following all competition rules.”

Alajuelense

Alajuelense kicked off this whole saga with their February complaint to CAS, coupled with a bold declaration: “The lawsuit demonstrates the existence of a multi-ownership between the Leon and Pachuca clubs, as well as the fact that no team has a greater right than ours to participate in the next Club World Cup.” It is not exactly clear what the right they speak of to compete in the Club World Cup is, though – they were knocked out in the semifinals of the 2023 Concacaf Champions League but by LAFC, not by Club Leon. It is also unlikely that Alajuelense would have qualified through the other qualification methods, but it is up to the Costa Rican club to make their argument on April 23 to have any shot at making this competition.

The long shots

The recent report suggests that FIFA will look for the most logical solution to fill the Club World Cup vacancy, which is not something world soccer’s governing body is known for. The vibe of this competition, which will see the field expand from eight teams to 32, has been an entirely unserious one – players and coaches have complained about fixture congestion for months, while landing anything from venues to broadcast partners and sponsors has been a struggle. That’s without including the sporting elements associated with the Club World Cup – the four-year ranking has been confusing and when FIFA had the chance to select a team to compete on behalf of the host nation, it selected Inter Miami rather than the eventual MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy, who were the league’s pick.

Though FIFA said the Club World Cup berth was a reward for Inter Miami after winning the Supporters’ Shield, it was hard not to interpret the move as one motivated by Lionel Messi’s star power and the dollar signs associated with it. It is why, as the Club Leon fiasco unfolded, it was hard not to envision FIFA selecting a random team of their choosing to add some luster to the haphazardly-organized and unpopular competition.

Al-Nassr: Straight from the mind of any cynic that has been paying attention to this sport for even a short amount of time, the Inter Miami pick made it seem like Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr could land an invite now that there was one to give away. That has not materialized, though, and perhaps the Club World Cup is all the better for it on sporting merit alone.

Barcelona: The list of potential contenders is going to be driven by commercial appeal since the whole competition feels an exercise in maximizing those opportunities. Barcelona’s inability to make the Club World Cup cut will feel like a miss for those interested in the potential earnings, especially with the prospect of a face-off with Real Madrid in the knockouts. The coaches and players may not mind missing out, though, even if the cash-strapped club may have enjoyed the additional revenue stream.

Manchester United: Like Barcelona, Manchester United feel like a natural contender in the off-chance that FIFA decides to go with a random team to replace Club Leon for the sake of revenue. They feel like a perfect fit now that minority investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe is calling the shots, since he lives on the extremes of cost-cutting measures that have seen the club lay off 450 people as well as maximizing profits to the point that United could play postseason games in Asia and preseason games in the U.S. and Europe.