FIFA reveals they paid $209 million to clubs to release players for World Cup 2022

FIFA disclosed how much they paid to clubs to released players for the Qatar tournament

Gianni Infantino appears to be sincere and possibly a little short on cash right now. FIFA have admitted that they paid clubs over £200 million ($209 million USD) to release players so they could compete in the Qatar World Cup 2022, which took place in the middle of the European football campaign in November and December.

76% of the money awarded by the organisation went to European teams, with English clubs receiving the greatest share ($158.9 million).

According to Sky Sports News, 440 different teams released 837 players to participate in the tournament, which was ultimately won by Argentina, which defeated France 4-2 on penalties following a 3-3 stalemate in extra time.

As the Premier League team with the most members at the World Cup (16 teams), Manchester City were also the team FIFA paid the greatest amount of money to.

From the total amount paid out in compensation to clubs, City, which won the treble, received $4.6 million, reported to the BBC. Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Paris St. Germain were the next teams on the list of recipients.

Gianni Infantino has announced that the amount given out as prizes to lure players away from their teams will increase for the 2026 and 2030 iterations of the competition, which will feature 48 teams instead of the current 32.

“Following the renewal of the memorandum of understanding with the European Clubs’ Association, the amount redistributed to clubs will further increase from $209m (£160.91m) for the 2018 and 2022 editions to $355m (£304.35m) for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments, recognising yet again the importance of the role played by clubs,” Infantino said.

The startling sums teams from all across the world got were detailed in the Club Benefits Programme Report, which was released on Thursday by the world governing body.

The initiative also had the added advantage of rewarding the player's previous two teams as well as their current club, therefore some players earned compensation even though their teams did not participate in the championship game.