How Atletico Madrid missed out on a €40m opportunity with early Club World Cup exit

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There was an awkward moment during a virtual meeting last September which involved representatives from FIFA and major European clubs.

As FIFA toiled to secure a broadcaster for its newly expanded Club World Cup — this was before DAZN stepped in to save the day — the meet had been convened to convince global TV networks of the value of the competition.

Representatives from Manchester City made a pitch, while executives from Bayern Munich and Juventus sent video messages to be played on the call.

Then Atletico Madrid chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin came on the line and asked FIFA for clarity as to how much money his club would make for taking part, referencing how their fierce rivals Real Madrid were expecting to bank vast sums. FIFA had long indicated to Real behind the scenes that more than €100million ($116m; £85m at current exchange rates) would be up for grabs for arguably the biggest club on the planet.

Others present for the virtual meeting were under the impression Gil Marin did not appear to realise broadcasters were present on the call when seeking answers from FIFA. When made aware of this, he quickly changed his tone to stress how much Atletico were looking forward to playing in the tournament in the United States and played up the merits of the tournament.

Atletico had always been very proud to be one of the two La Liga representatives at the revamped competition along with Real. Last November, a senior figure at the club — speaking anonymously in order to talk freely — told The Athletic how qualifying ahead of Barcelona showed Atleti’s status as one of the European elite.

(Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Both Gil Marin and Atletico president Enrique Cerezo attended last December’s Club World Cup draw in Miami (unlike Cerezo’s Real Madrid counterpart Florentino Perez). Atletico viewed the tournament as a huge chance to promote the club’s brand in a lucrative and mostly untapped U.S. market, as do all the big European clubs taking part.

A further factor is the expectation that Gil Marin and Cerezo will sell their majority stake in Atletico within the next few years. The club are part-owned by U.S. investment manager Ares Management Corporation, which increased its share last summer. Impressing in a prestigious international tournament on American soil would make that majority stake even more valuable to interested buyers.

Atletico’s marketing push included setting up a ‘Casa Atleti’ venue in Los Angeles during the group stages. What the club called an “interactive pop-up venue celebrating all things Atletico de Madrid” featured a club shop, mini-museum with trophies and memorabilia, food courts, gaming areas and visits from club legends including Diego Costa, Tiago and Miranda of the 2014 La Liga-winning side.

Thank you to everyone who came to Casa Atleti for our Atleti Red & White Meet and Greet ❤️🤍

Make sure to come to Casa Atleti if you’re in Los Angeles! https://t.co/zm6E4E2xA6 pic.twitter.com/CrV7he5gAr

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) June 18, 2025

“Everyone at Atletico is really excited at playing the first Club World Cup, and we all want to win it,” Cerezo said at Casa Atleti on June 14, the day of the team’s first game in the competition.

“This is the most important tournament we will play in four years,” continued Cerezo, a film promoter by trade who has long links with Hollywood. “We think we can take a really important step in the history of Atletico Madrid.”

Another sign of Atletico’s ambition and creativity in taking advantage of their Club World Cup appearance was their new “first ever Supporters’ Club in outer space” — an international ‘Atleti Red & White’ membership scheme they could promote during the tournament. The supporters’ club was given an official base in a star in the Ursa Major constellation, while NASA designer Tim Gagnon helped design a patch that members receive.

🛰️ A supporters’ club in space.
🎟️ A card for fans far from Madrid.
🎁 Gift, kit, trip to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Wherever you are, you’re always Atleti.
👉 https://t.co/LP1RHJSQrv pic.twitter.com/B5ltIUIZB1

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) June 3, 2025

Such astronomical hopes for the competition were hit as soon as Atletico landed in the U.S.

The team’s base at the Hotel Conrad in downtown Los Angeles was within the ‘curfew area’ declared during political protests against the U.S. government’s immigration policy. That meant police sirens and helicopter noise through the days and nights before their opening game against Paris Saint-Germain.

Atletico players and staff all claimed pre-game that the noise and uncertainty had not affected their preparation. “Of course we can hear the helicopters and sirens, but we have to keep our heads 110 per cent on the game,” Giuliano Simeone told reporters at their matchday-minus-one press activities, which had been moved and rescheduled at short notice due to the tense situation in the city.

But there was a clear lack of energy and concentration as Atletico were completely overrun by PSG in the first 45 minutes. The blistering-hot conditions at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena also meant Diego Simeone’s team were unable to produce their usual high-intensity style of play. Late mistakes then allowed PSG to score two more goals for an emphatic 4-0 final scoreline.

“It’s impossible, terribly hot,” Atleti midfielder Marcos Llorente said after that game. “My toenails were hurting. I couldn’t slow down or speed up. It was unbelievable.”

The defeat was a huge blow for Atletico, but they still had two group games to come. And there was also plenty of commercial work to do. Players including goalkeeper Jan Oblak and Julian Alvarez were at Casa Atleti for ‘meet and greet’ events with supporters. Ex-Atletico striker Fernando Torres, now coaching the club’s B team, was in Venice Beach for a Nike event, along with fellow former greats of the game Ronaldinho and Ronaldo Nazario.

In Atletico’s second group game, away from the noise and heat of California, Atletico easily outclassed Seattle Sounders 3-1, with two goals from young midfielder Pablo Barrios. That lifted the mood among the players, who thought they were back on track to qualify — and club executives who knew most of the prize money is awarded to teams who go deep in the competition.

But during the journey back to LA, they all watched in disbelief as a heavily rotated PSG side were beaten 1-0 by the Brazilian team Botafogo.

It was quickly apparent to everyone how the late lack of control against PSG had cost them. That now meant that, unless PSG slipped up against Seattle, Atletico needed to beat the Copa Libertadores holders by three goals in their final group game to remain in the competition.

It never looked possible as Atletico laboured through the first half in Monday’s game back at the Rose Bowl. There was a glimpse of hope when Alvarez appeared to win a penalty just before the break but, after a VAR consultation, a push by Alexander Sorloth early in the move saw a free kick awarded to Botafogo instead.

Alvarez looks on during the 1-0 win against Botafogo that led to Atletico’s elimination (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Simeone and his players were furious with the decision, just as they had been when another VAR call had led to a goal by Alvarez disallowed against PSG in their opener. An 87th-minute effort by substitute Antoine Griezmann on Monday night eventually gave Atletico a 1-0 win over Botafogo, but it was too little, too late.

“There’s frustration but getting six points in a group with the Champions League and Copa Libertadores winners was not bad,” Simeone said afterwards. “In the end, we paid for the game against PSG. None of the refereeing decisions went our way, against PSG or today. But that’s part of football.

“This was a huge opportunity for us to keep evolving as a team and as a club. We know really clearly what we need to improve.”

After a disappointing 2024-25, in which Atletico lost out to Real Madrid in the Champions League in controversial circumstances, finished behind Barcelona and Real in La Liga and exited the Copa del Rey semi-finals against Barca, Simeone is keen to improve his squad.

Atletico’s only signing ahead of the Club World Cup was the arrival on a free transfer of defender Clement Lenglet, who had been on loan at Atletico from Barca last season. The Frenchman was sent off during the team’s meltdown against PSG.

Atletico’s targets this summer include Real Betis’ U.S. international midfielder Jonny Cardoso, Tottenham’s Argentina defender Cristian Romero, and Villarreal’s Spain international playmaker Alex Baena.

None of those will come cheap, which is another reason the early exit will hurt everyone at Atletico.

They will take home about €30m from FIFA, given their mid-ranking status among the European participants, and €4m in total for their two group victories.

Even making the semi-finals — not at all unreasonable for an Atletico squad boasting six players who have won World Cups with their countries — would have meant at least €40m more in prize money.

That is before counting the extra intangible benefits of being involved in the latter stages of the tournament in front of sponsors, fans and broadcasters.

Instead, Atletico became the first European team to be eliminated from the tournament. They were hurt by many different factors beyond their control: the political protests, LA’s midday heat, a tough draw, and especially Botafogo’s shock win against PSG in the second round of games.

But they also did not play well enough. They were completely outclassed by PSG and then unable to cause a very well-organised Botafogo team many problems in the decisive third game.

So the Club World Cup turned out to be a missed opportunity for Atletico, both on and off the pitch. They had hoped that their much-anticipated appearance in the tournament would be like a Hollywood blockbuster for a club always striving to be taken as a serious rival to Madrid and Barcelona.

Instead, it ended up feeling more like a horror movie for Simeone and company.

(Top photo: Koke after the final whistle against Botafogo; Alex Pantling – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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