A happy holiday is worth more than 40 million

BarcelonaAfter the final matches against Brazil and Uruguay this morning, all Barça first-team players have officially called it a day. In fact, half of them were already on vacation since the end of La Liga. A dozen more, those with international commitments—from the Nations League to World Cup qualifying—have now been added. It will be a long summer for them. No tournaments and the possibility of disconnecting from football for up to five weeks. The ideal scenario for Hansi Flick, though not so much for the club's finances.

While Barça rests, other European teams, such as Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City, are intensifying their training ahead of the Club World Cup, a newly created competition that begins this weekend in the United States and is now required to be held every four years, just like Barça. It's too early to know whether the tournament will be a success or not and to what extent the clubs will take it seriously. What's clear is that it means breaking up the summer break and further strains the legs of players who are already heavily loaded by an extremely tight schedule. Real Madrid, for example, gave the players two weeks off before returning to work on Monday, while Pep Guardiola, City manager, has already warned that he will manage the matches primarily with the focus on physical preparation for next season in mind.

Barça ruled out entering the World Cup even with a wild card.

Barça would have liked to be in this event. It's both a matter of branding and because it guarantees an income of €40 million, which would have been very good considering the club's current financial situation. It was left out on sporting merits because last season, when registrations closed, the club was third in the ranking of Spanish teams—behind Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. In any case, there was a remote possibility that Barça would end up participating, through an invitation. As president Joan Laporta explained in a meeting with a close circle, FIFA was willing to grant a place—the one left vacant after the expulsion of the Mexican club León—to the Blaugrana if they won the Champions League.

It was merely a proposal that never materialized, among other reasons because Barça declined it in March, before playing the Champions League quarterfinals against Borussia Dortmund. "We would have liked to be there for what it means in terms of brand and prestige, but when the opportunity came up we already had the tour closed. Even if the offer had been made, wildcard, we would have rejected it. All things considered, it's much better to have a normal vacation," the board members point out.

Once Barça's position was made known, FIFA ruled out inviting another European club and decided that the vacant spot should go to an American club. ties to Pachuca - and took the complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which ultimately ruled in favor of the organizers. A playoff was eventually held, which was won by Los Angeles, who thus became the last team to qualify.

Barça's resignation was widely applauded by the coach, Hansi Flick, and his entire team. staff. During the season, they had complained that they had too little time between matches to train tactical aspects. After the holidays, all first-team players are scheduled to be called up to the Ciudad Deportiva on July 14th, and the official season begins the weekend of August 17th. In between, there's time to get in shape physically, acquire the concepts the coach will require of the players, and undertake an Asian tour to build up their skills.

Barça plans to play four matches this summer. Five if the Gamper match can finally be played in early August. The club has two matches scheduled in Korea—against Seoul and Daegu—and one in Japan—against Vissel Kobe. The intention is to play a second one in Japan. From the outset, he has 15 million guaranteed, and the financial department believes he could earn up to 25 million. Much less than what he would earn by playing in the Club World Cup, but if in exchange for earning less he can face the season better, those in the upper echelons believe it could be worth it.

An additional month of competition

The Club World Cup begins this weekend and runs until July 13. The clubs eliminated will be able to go on vacation. But those who reach the final will be able to give their players very few days off, as most European competitions start the weekend of August 17. This means they would have a couple of weeks off at most.