With the victory of Palmeiras 1-0 over Santos, this Saturday in the Brazilian final of the Copa Libertadores 2020-2021, the list of participants of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 was completed, which will start on February 1.Thus, Bayern Munich (Germany), Palmeiras (Brazil), Tigres de la UANL (Mexico), Ulsan Hyundai FC (South Korea), Al Ahly SC (Egypt) and Al Duhail SC (Qatar) will seek to be crowned as the new champion world at club level, in a tournament marked by strict sanitary measures due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
However, for the vast majority of analysts and fans, the clear favorite is the European team, given that in the last seven editions this representative has won the cup. The reason: significantly higher payroll than other competitors. And it is that although economic power does not guarantee titles, it does the acquisition of better footballers, which facilitates a good functioning on the field. In this sense, the UANL Tigers have achieved great sporting and financial achievements in the last decade at the hands of CEMEX, one of the most important producers and suppliers of materials for the construction industry in the world.
Under his support, they have hired great figures from Liga MX and international football. Carlos González (Paraguay), Leo Fernández (Uruguay), Guido Pizarro (Argentina), Nahuel Guzmán (Argentina), and of course, André-Pierre Gignac (France), are some examples. According to the specialized site Transfer market, with these names, the felines are positioned within the top 3 of the most valuable clubs in Liga MX, with 59.4 million euros. Despite this, the university students are far from having the list of the two favorites to win the “world cup”: B. Munich and Palmeiras.
According to the same portal, the Brazilian team, rival of Tigres if it advances to the semifinals, has a value of 95.5 million euros. Its most sought-after figures are the extreme right Gabriel Verón, 18 years old (25 million); midfielder Gabriel Merino, 20 years old (10 million); and the midfielder David de Paula, 21 years old (9 million). Not to mention the whole of the Bundesliga, which has a staff valued at 893.5 million; that is, more than 15 times the cost of the Mexican club, and more than 9 than the carioca. Just look at the names of stars like the Germans Serge Gnabry, 25 (90 million) and Joshua Kimmich, 25 (85 million); Canadian Alphonso Davies, 20 years old (80 million) or Leroy Sané, 25 years old (75 million), to name a few.
As for Ulsan Hyundai FC, the first rival of “La U”, things change. Well, his payroll is only 18.4 million euros. They are even the weakest participant in this area; even though the equipment is owned by the automotive company of the same name. By their leg market values, the most prominent players for the Asian Tigers are South Korean goalkeeper Hyun-woo Jo, 29, and his compatriot, left-winger In-Seong Kim, 31; both valued at 1.2 million.
The club that would be closest to the Tigers are the locals of Al-Duhail, of 33.2 million euros; and who have Brazilian midfielders Dudu, 29 years old (12 million), and Edmilson Junior, 26 years old (3.8 million). Finally, Al-Ahly registers a total of 25.5 million euros. Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, 32, and Nigerian left winger Junior Ajayi, 25, are the highest-rated, with 2.5 million and 1.5 million, respectively. Given these numbers, the Tigers will begin their dream on February 4 against their Asian counterparts.
