When the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 kicks off in the United States, one Spanish powerhouse will be notably absent: FC Barcelona. Instead, it’s Atletico Madrid who will represent Spain alongside Real Madrid. The reason has nothing to do with luck — it comes down to performance, UEFA rankings, and FIFA’s strict qualification criteria.

How did Atletico Madrid qualify?

Atletico earned their spot through the UEFA club coefficient ranking — a system that rewards clubs for consistent results in European competitions over a four-year cycle (2021–2024).

Under FIFA’s expanded 32-team Club World Cup format, Europe was allocated 12 slots:

• 4 spots for Champions League winners (2021–2024)
• 8 spots for clubs with the highest UEFA coefficient points that didn’t win the title

Atletico Madrid, thanks to their regular presence in the knockout stages of both the Champions League and Europa League, accumulated enough points to secure one of those eight non-champion berths.

Why is Barcelona not going?

Despite its global stature, Barcelona failed to meet the qualification criteria. During the 2021–2024 period, the club suffered multiple early eliminations from European competitions — including back-to-back group stage exits from the Champions League — and did not gather enough points in the UEFA coefficient ranking.

To make matters more difficult, FIFA imposed a limit of two clubs per country (unless one is a continental champion). For Spain, those two spots are taken by:

• Real Madrid (Champions League 2021–22 winners)
• Atletico Madrid (via UEFA ranking)

With both slots filled, Barcelona missed out — regardless of their late improvements.

When will the tournament be held?

The 2025 Club World Cup will take place in the USA, from June to July, featuring 32 clubs from around the globe. It marks the debut of FIFA’s new “World Cup-style” format for clubs, aiming to elevate the prestige and scale of the competition.