In 2025, Barcelona is not in the Club World Cup, and SantaKick is here to break down why. Although Barca won La Liga and the Copa del Rey in the 2024–25 season, those achievements alone weren’t enough under the new qualification rules. Their exclusion comes down to timing, rankings, and a limit on how many clubs, we’ll unpack the format changes, UEFA’s coefficients, and how their recent performance left them short.
What changed with the 2025 Club World Cup format
FIFA overhauled the Club World Cup starting in 2025. A few key shifts:
- The tournament expanded from the old seven-team format to 32 teams, held every four years.
- It’s no longer enough just to win your domestic league or cup; qualification is now heavily tied to performance in continental competitions (especially for UEFA) over a four-year period (2021-2024).
- There’s a cap: no more than two clubs.
These changes mean that past single-season success is less powerful than consistent performance at the European and continental level over several seasons.
How UEFA qualification and slots worked against Barcelona
To understand why Barcelona specifically missed out, consider how the spots were allocated for European clubs:
- UEFA was awarded 12 places in the 2025 Club World Cup.
- Some of those spots were automatic: Champions League winners in the 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 seasons got direct entry.
- The rest were filled via a club ranking over the 2021-24 cycle using UEFA’s club performance (how far they progressed, wins, draws, etc.).
- Crucially: there’s a two-club maximum per country from the ranking (excluding automatic qualifications via Champions League wins). So once two Spanish clubs filled those spots, others couldn’t get in.
Where Barcelona fell short
Putting those rules into practice:
- Real Madrid secured qualification automatically by winning the Champions League in two of those seasons within the 2021-24 window.
- Atlético Madrid obtained a slot, being the next highest-ranked Spanish club over that same period.
- Barcelona, despite a strong 2024-25, did not have enough Champions League success during 2021-24, and their ranking points over that period were lower than Atlético.
- Because Spain could have only two clubs via ranking/automatic slots, and those were taken by Real Madrid and Atlético, Barcelona was excluded even though domestically they had a great season.
Common misunderstandings
Let’s clear up some misconceptions that often come up:
- Winning your domestic leaguedoes not always guarantee qualification under the new format. The key window for UEFA qualification is 2021-2024, not including 2024-25 results.
- It’s not about favoritism: even big clubs are subject to the same criteria. It’s just that past few years’ European performance matters more than one great season.
- The “two clubs per country” rule is strict: once two slots are used, others can only enter by automatic (Champions League winner) route if that doesn’t violate the limit. Barcelona didn’t meet either within the criteria.
Implications for Barcelona and similar clubs
Barcelona’s absence sends a few messages:
- Clubs will now need consistent performance in the Champions League (and other UEFA competitions) across seasons to secure their spot. Sporadic failures, even for big clubs, are costly.
- Domestic trophies like La Liga and the Copa del Rey still matter, but they’re less relevant to global competitions under this format unless tied to continental success.
- There’s greater pressure on clubs to avoid collapse in European group stages—they hurt ranking points, and ranking is now decisive.
For Barcelona, it means rebuilding to be among the best in Europe regularly, not just domestically.
Conclusion
Why is Barcelona not in the Club World Cup? Because under FIFA’s new 32-team format starting 2025, qualification depends heavily on performance from 2021-2024 in European competitions, plus there is a strict quota of at most two clubs. Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid fulfilled the criteria first—Barcelona did not, even though they won the league and cup in 2024-25. Their four-year European coefficient was lower compared to Atlético, and Spain’s two slots were already taken.
SantaKick hopes this clears up the confusion. If you want to dive into the full list of qualified clubs, or see how your favorite team ranks under the new system, just say the word—we’ve got that info ready!
