- Club World Cup winners will bank £97m compared to FA Cup pot of just £4m
- But every player and coach would still rather hold the trophy aloft at Wembley
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Are Liverpool fans right to lambast Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Winners of the Club World Cup will receive £97million in prize money compared to around £4m for lifting the FA Cup.
You can guess which competition the money-men prefer but I can guarantee that every player and coach would rather hold the trophy aloft at Wembley than have success in America this summer.
Manchester City are in both and on Sunday could set a record by reaching an FA Cup semi-final for a seventh consecutive year.
Pep Guardiola understands the history, legacy and relevance of the competition and that will be transmitted to all of his players, regardless of their nationality.
In contrast, the majority of players crossing the Atlantic in June for a manufactured tournament that exists purely to make money won’t want to be there.
After a long domestic season, most players want to enjoy well-earned time with their families, unless it’s for something truly meaningful like representing their country at the World Cup.
Every player and coach would rather win the FA Cup over the Club World Cup
Players in a manufactured tournament that exists purely to make money won’t want to be there
There is no point pretending the Club World Cup has anything like the same stature and players won’t be treating it with the same intensity regardless of bonuses on offer.
These players are wealthy enough not to be governed by the financial attractions of winning a trophy – it’s for the glory, and that feeling can only come from within because they feel the competition is significant.
At Liverpool during my time, the FA Cup was seen as hugely consequential. There was a thirst for winning. That came not just from local players like Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher but most importantly the manager, Gerard Houllier, who worked on Merseyside as a teacher before his time in football.
It didn’t take long for the overseas lads who came to Anfield to get it straight away.
Houllier would prepare for domestic cup games with the same diligence as playing Barcelona.
It used to be a joke among the lads how long our preparation meetings would last when we knew we’d win the game anyway.
I remember once playing Stoke in the League Cup. They were in the Second Division but Houllier dissected them like we were facing serious opposition. We beat them 8-0 so it probably wasn’t necessary but it ingrained in us how important these games were.
I have a feeling Pep has the same mindset at City. He may have had to juggle if they were still fighting to win the Premier League or Champions League but given their situation I think we’ll see them at full-strength and full intensity at Bournemouth.
Pep Guardiola understands the history, legacy and relevance of the prestigious FA Cup
The significance is huge. Last season, winning the Cup secured Man United a spot in Europe
Of course, teams fighting to survive in the Premier League will view it differently. The managers themselves will be told by the hierarchy where the priority should lie – and it’s not with the FA Cup. The beauty of this year’s quarter-final line-up is that none of the teams are in danger of relegation so they could all have a proper crack.
The significance of winning the FA Cup is huge. Think of Coventry City, Wimbledon and Wigan Athletic and your mind automatically goes to their golden days at Wembley. My pride in winning the Cup with Liverpool in 2001 (above) grows every year.
On a practical level, it also remains important. Imagine how bad things would feel at Manchester United if they didn’t have the potential lifeline of qualifying for the Champions League via winning the Europa League.
Let’s not forget, they are only in Europe now because they won the FA Cup. They should thank Erik ten Hag for taking the competition seriously.
In this era of Financial Fair Play and Profit and Sustainability Rules, where clubs have to earn revenues in order to spend, the carrot of a competition like the Club World Cup is obvious.
Shamefully, the FA Cup has become disregarded in some quarters but it’s still highly-prized by two groups of very important people; the fans, and the players themselves.
