The world football governing body, FIFA has officially reclassified the Club World Cup, stripping past champions of the title.
This means that top European clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, and Manchester City are no longer Club World Cup winners.
The global football governing body has now declared that only Chelsea, winners of the 2025 edition, can legitimately be called FIFA Club World Cup winners, and, by extension, world champions.
All other previous winners, regardless of their history or dominance in the competition, will now bear the title FIFA Intercontinental Champions.
The decision affects legendary clubs like Real Madrid, who won the tournament five times, as well as Manchester United, who were crowned in 2008, and Barcelona, who lifted it three times.
The shift in recognition stems from the newly expanded format of the tournament, which debuted in 2025. For the first time, 32 clubs from six football confederations competed in a single-event showdown, similar to the structure of the men’s FIFA World Cup.
Chelsea, under new boss Enzo Maresca, made the most of the revamped platform, demolishing Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in a commanding final to lift the trophy. It is the new version of the tournament that FIFA now considers the legitimate starting point of the official Club World Cup era.
The next edition of the Club World Cup will return in 2029, with four clubs, PSG (France), Pyramids (Egypt), Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), and Cruz Azul (Mexico), already securing their places by winning their respective continental titles.
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