A new report from FIFA has revealed Manchester City received the most money from having their stars playing at the World Cup in Qatar last year.
The Club Benefits Programme Report, published by the world governing body on Thursday, outlined the staggering amounts teams all across the globe received.
A total of $209m (£160.90m) was distributed by FIFA to 440 clubs worldwide, with a payment of $10,950 (£8,429) given per player, per day.
The amount teams received was worked out by the number of days each player spent at the World Cup, starting from the day they were released for international duty and ending after their final match at the tournament. For example, if a player was away from their club for 20 days, they would receive 20 times the £8,429 daily payment.
There is also the added benefit that the programme doesn’t just reward the player’s current club, but also the team they played for over the previous two seasons, meaning some received money despite not having any actual representatives at the showpiece tournament.
FIFA’s Club Benefits Programme Report revealed the staggering amounts the world governing body paid out to clubs as compensation for releasing their players for the World Cup in Qatar
Man City topped the list of clubs worldwide, with the Treble-winners receiving $4.6m (£3.5m)
Julian Alvarez (left) and Kyle Walker (right) were among their stars playing at the tournament
The report revealed that European clubs – who made up 76 per cent of players at the tournament – received by far and away the most money at $158.90m (£122.32m), which dwarfed the second highest of those under the Asian Football Confederation who were handed a measly $23.78m (£18.31m).
Within Europe, English clubs again had the most income from the World Cup via FIFA’s scheme, as they raked in $37.70m (£29.03m)
This was followed by teams in Spain at $24.40m (£18.78m), Germany $21m (£16.17m), while Italy – who didn’t even qualify for the World Cup – saw their clubs receive $18.70m (£14.40m). French sides rounded off the top five with $16.60 (£12.78m) in compensation.
In the Premier League, Manchester City were the biggest beneficiaries by a distance as they earned $4.60m (£3.54m) by having 16 players at the World Cup.
Close behind them were both Chelsea and Manchester United who brought in $3.30m (£2.51m), while Tottenham $2.80m (£2.18m) and Liverpool $2.40m (£1.86m) made up the other clubs who received the most.
At the bottom end, Bournemouth – who only had Welshmen Kieffer Moore and Chris Mepham in Qatar – received the least amount of compensation at $0.38m (£0.30m), while Southampton $0.52m (£0.40m) and Nottingham Forest $0.58m (£0.45m) also received less than Championship side QPR.
The Hoops had Senegal back-up keeper Seny Dieng and Morocco midfielder Ilias Chair at the tournament, with Chair going all the way to the final weekend before the Atlas Lions lost in the third place play-off to Croatia.
In total, they brought in $0.62m (£0.48m) under the FIFA benefits scheme.
Barcelona received the second highest amount out of any club in Europe, just behind Man City
Bournemouth’s sole representatives in Qatar were Wales’ Chris Mepham (right) and Kieffer Moore (centre) and they received the least amount of any Premier League team
Across the whole of Europe, City – $4.60m (£3.54m) – were the only team in the top five from England.
They narrowly edged out Barcelona, who brought in $4.50m (£3.49m) while Bayern Munich added $4.30m (£3.33m).
Real Madrid and PSG were level in fourth and fifth place with both European giants bringing in $3.80m (£2.95m).
The benefits weren’t limited to the upper echelons of football however. League Two side Swindon had one representative at the World Cup in Wales’ Jonny Williams.
Rob Page’s side crashed out after a short stay, finishing bottom of their group with a solitary point. However, this still earned Swindon $108,591 (£83,594).
Elsewhere, Wigan, Doncaster and National League outfit Boreham Wood all received five-figure sums as part of the programme.
In Scotland, seven clubs earned $2.10m (£1.61m) between them, with Celtic bringing in the most at $664,326 (£511,405).
This was more than Rangers’ $414,291 (£318,925), while Hearts, Dundee United, Hibernian, St Johnstone and St Mirren also received sums of money.
Looking ahead, the central distribution pot of $209m (£160.90m) is set to increase even further to $355m (£273m) for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments meaning clubs will continue to be well-remunerated for losing their players to the World Cup.