Carlo Ancelotti has insisted he was misinterpreted after suggesting Real Madrid intended to reject an invitation to play at next year’s FIFA Club World Cup.

The competition is set to be expanded to 32 teams and will be played across four weeks in the US next summer following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.

Madrid are expected to be one of the standout clubs to take part – having won the tournament on five occasions in the last nine years.

Ancelotti had been quoted as saying Real Madrid would not play due to FIFA not offering enough money, and believes other sides will follow suit.

‘FIFA forgets that the clubs and players will not participate in that tournament,’ Ancelotti said in an interview with Il Giornale, as quoted by Relevo.

Carlo Ancelotti had suggested Real Madrid would reject an invitation to play at the Club World Cup, before later claiming he had been misinterpreted

Real Madrid have won the competition five times in the last nine years

Ancelotti had suggested FIFA president Gianni Infantino (pictured) isn’t offering enough money to clubs

‘A single Real Madrid match is worth €20million (£17m) and they want to give us that money for the entire competition. Negative.

‘Real Madrid, like other clubs, we will decline the invitation.’

Real Madrid have since released a statement insisting they full intend to play in the competition they have won five times in the last nine years.

Ancelotti took to Instagram shortly afterwards, claiming his quotes from the earlier interview had been misinterpreted.

Chelsea and City are England’s representatives in the tournament, having won the Champions League in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

They make up two of the 12 European nations invited to the competition, which include the winners of Europe’s premier trophy from each of the past four seasons. The rest of the continent’s slots have been allocated based on club’s UEFA ranking over the past four years.

They’ll be joined by four teams from Asia and four from Africa, as well as six from South America and four from North America. Oceania gets one spot, with the final place allocated to an MLS side on behalf of the host nation.

Host cities in the US are yet to be determined.

The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups, from which the top two will qualify for the last-16 stage.

FIFA’s decision to expand the Club World Cup has been criticised in recent weeks due to concerns over player welfare.

Premier League and LaLiga chiefs have threatened to boycott the competition, and accused FIFA of ‘killing the game’ by adding more matches to an already-packed football calendar.

Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano (right) believes the expansion is part of a ‘crisis’ for fixture scheduling

TEAMS QUALIFIES FOR FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP SO FAR

EUROPEAN TEAMS (12 spaces):

Chelsea, Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg

SOUTH AMERICAN TEAMS (six spaces):

Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminese, River Plater (Two spots TBC)

NORTH AMERICAN TEAMS (four spaces, plus host spot):

Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, Leon, Pachuca (One spot TBC)

ASIAN TEAMS (four spaces):

Al-Hilal, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Ulsan HD

AFRICAN TEAMS (four spaces):

Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Esperance de Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns

OCEANIAN TEAMS (one space):

Auckland City

PFA boss Maheta Molango even revealed that legal action could be taken against FIFA if they don’t row back on their plans to expand the Club World Cup.

‘Those who run the game need to listen,’ he told The Sun. ‘If they don’t, then as unions we have a responsibility to the players to take action — and the legal route is the next step.

‘The governing bodies have had every chance to meaningfully engage with us on this, but they have failed to do so. Current player workloads are unsustainable.’

Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano also believes moving to a 32-team format represents part of a ‘crisis’ when it comes to fixture scheduling, hinting that the Premier League champions may also consider whether participating is in their best interests.

However, PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has no intention of withdrawing his side from the competition, and has insisted the Club World Cup will be ‘bigger than the World Cup’.