Will Kylian Mbappe Play in the 2025 Club World Cup? | OneFootball

The 2025 Club World Cup is right around the corner, following months of anticipation and buildup from FIFA, who are eager to make their revamped tournament a global spectacle.

Now featuring 32 teams—up from the traditional seven—and boasting a staggering $1 billion prize pool, the competition kicks off on June 14 when Inter Miami, led by the legendary Lionel Messi, take on Egyptian giants Al Ahly FC at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Messi and Miami are just one of many star-studded attractions at the tournament. Other headliners include Manchester City and Erling Haaland, Paris Saint-Germain and Ousmane Dembélé, Chelsea and Cole Palmer, Bayern Munich and Harry Kane, and Atlético Madrid and Julián Álvarez—not to mention global talent from every footballing continent.

One name you’d expect to see among that elite cast? Kylian Mbappé. But is the Real Madrid superstar actually set to feature in the 2025 Club World Cup?

Have Mbappé & Real Madrid Qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup?

Real Madrid are among the favourites to win the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Yes—both Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid will be at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Los Blancos secured their place by winning the UEFA Champions League in both 2021/22 and 2023/24, comfortably meeting the qualification criteria under FIFA's revamped tournament format.

With the expanded 32-team structure, FIFA introduced a new qualification system based on club performances across a four-year span (2021–2024) in each confederation’s top competitions. Champions League winners qualified automatically, while the remaining slots were awarded to the highest-performing teams based on results and consistency.

To ensure diversity, no more than two clubs per country could qualify unless one earned automatic entry as a tournament winner.

Because Madrid won the Champions League twice, their second qualification spot was passed down to the next eligible UEFA team—Red Bull Salzburg of Austria. The other teams from UEFA that qualified are Chelsea (2020/21 winners), Manchester City (2022/23), Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, and Salzburg––making UEFA the best-represented confederation at the tournament with 12 teams.

Elsewhere, six clubs from CONMEBOL (South America) qualified, along with four each from AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), and Concacaf (North America). OFC (Oceania) will have one representative. The final place goes to the host nation, with FIFA controversially awarding it to Inter Miami from the United States.

Mbappe’s History in the Club World Cup

Kylian Mbappe never made it to the Club World Cup with PSG. / IMAGO/Panoramic by PsnewZ

Despite being one of world soccer’s biggest stars for nearly a decade, Kylian Mbappé has never competed in the Club World Cup.

Why? During his nine seasons in France with AS Monaco and PSG, he never won the Champions League—the key to qualifying for the Club World Cup in its previous format.

Until now, the tournament featured just seven teams: six continental champions and one representative from the host nation. That limited format meant only the most recent winners of each confederation's top club competition were invited. France has also never hosted the tournament, with FIFA historically favoring developing football markets in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

Mbappé came closest in the 2019/20 season, when PSG reached the Champions League final but were beaten by Bayern Munich. Ironically, after his high-profile move to Real Madrid, PSG finally clinched their first Champions League title—without him—in the following campaign.

Now, at long last, Mbappé is set to make his Club World Cup debut—not with the team he helped build, but with the one he joined to chase European and global glory.

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