The 2024/25 European season has drawn to a close, and all eyes are now on this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. This June and July, 32 of the planet’s best teams will face off in the United States in a completely revamped tournament in a bid to become world champions.
The action gets underway on June 14th when Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami welcomes Egyptian champions Al Ahly to Hard Rock Stadium. Throughout the month that follows, the competing outfits will be whittled down to just two finalists, and they will battle it out at MetLife Stadium on July 13th with the Club World Cup trophy on the line.
Online gambling sites already have their favorites earmarked. The latest odds from the popular Bovada gambling site currently make Real Madrid a narrow +450 favorite, with Manchester City just behind at +500. But how have each of the tournament favorites fared throughout the course of their respective campaigns? Let’s find out.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid head stateside as the outright favorites, but they will be glad to see that their archrivals, Barcelona, aren’t in the Club World Cup this summer. The Blaugrana have beaten Los Blancos no fewer than four times this season, twice in the league, once in the Copa Del Rey Final, and again in the Spanish Super Cup final. As such, it’s safe to say that the Catalonians have dominated domestic matters this term, and the upcoming showdown represents Real’s final opportunity to end the campaign with some silverware.
Their UEFA Champions League performances weren’t much better. Despite knocking out Manchester City and Atletico Madrid – the latter in controversial fashion – the record 15-time champions were stunned by Premier League side Arsenal in the quarterfinals. Two impressive Declan Rice free kicks helped the Gunners secure an amazing 5-1 aggregate victory across the two legs, a result that led to Los Blancos’ earliest exit in five years.
Manchester City
Similarly, Manchester City has also had a disastrous season. They headed into the 2024/25 campaign having won the Premier League in each of the last four seasons, as well as winning the Champions League in 2023. However, a season-ending injury to talismanic midfielder Rodri curtailed any hopes they had of competing for honors this term.
The Blues did reach the FA Cup final, and they were huge favorites to win that. Instead, they were stunned by lowly Crystal Palace, with the Eagles winning their first-ever piece of major silverware. Rodri is expected to feature in some capacity in the States this summer, and Guardiola will be hoping he can play a prominent role, otherwise, more heartache could be around the corner.
Bayern Munich
German giants Bayern Munich managed to successfully reclaim the Bundesliga title from Bayer Leverkusen in Vincent Kompany’s first game in charge. The triumph handed the England national Harry Kane his first major trophy as a professional, and he will be looking to double his trophy haul almost immediately with victory at the Club World Cup.
While the Bavarians did indeed win the Meisterschale this season, they are still a million miles from the all-conquering teams of 2013 and 2020. Kane remains as prolific as ever, while attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala is one of the most talented players in the world. However, a shaky defense anchored by former Tottenham Hotspur man Eric Dier could well be tested by the higher-level opposition it will come up against in the knockout stages.
Paris Saint-Germain
Luis Enrique heads into the Club World Cup as arguably the planet’s form team. As such, it beggars belief that they are only regarded as the +700 fourth favorites, but some of that could be down to the fact that they have had less time to prepare for the tournament due to their participation in the UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan.
Who’s going to lift the trophy? 🏆
Paris Saint-Germain -160
Inter Milan +132
pic.twitter.com/uBiyCdulov— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) May 28, 2025
Under their iconic Spanish boss, the Parisians are looking like a team reborn. Gone are the days of individual superstars such as Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi, and in their place come young and hungry players forming a cohesive team.
Ousmane Dembele is the leading light, having plundered plenty of goals this term, and he will more than likely win the Ballon d’Or if he can lead his team to a Champions League final victory against the Nerazzurri. Supported in a terrifying front three by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and wonderkid DĂ©sirĂ© DouĂ©, he may well lead his side to a famous quadruple if they win the Club World Cup as well.
Inter Milan
Inter Milan looked set for a blockbuster year themselves, but the last few weeks of their season saw their hopes torpedoed. They were dumped out of the Coppa Italia in the semifinals by cross-city rivals AC Milan, before being pipped to the Scudetto by Antonio Conte’s Napoli on the final day of the season. Now, they are underdogs in the upcoming Champions League final against PSG, and if they lose that as well, the Club World Cup will represent their last shot at redemption.