Hoping for an Arsenal exit

Salzburg’s historic participation? 50 million beckons!

Salzburg's sports director Bernhard Seonbuchner (left) and CEO Stephan Reiter

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

For soccer champions Salzburg, the next two weeks are also about the first participation of an Austrian club in a Club World Cup. Should Bayern Munich knock out Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals, the Bulls would be guaranteed a ticket. According to British and Italian media reports, FIFA's entry fee for the new mega-tournament alone will be in the region of 50 million euros for each team. That would be more than a year's budget for all other clubs in the domestic Bundesliga. 

Twelve places in the tournament, which has been expanded to 32 teams, will go to Europe in the summer of 2025 in the USA. Only if Arsenal were to win the Champions League would Salzburg still fall short of a historic participation.

Salzburg's sports director Bernhard Seonbuchner was cautious. "We'll really think about what it would mean in concrete terms when the time comes. Because building castles in the air beforehand that then don't materialize is something that should be treated with caution, especially in soccer," said the Bavarian. Arsenal are in a good position as second in the Premier League table. "Accordingly, we want to proceed with caution."

Salzburg's sporting director Bernhard Seonbuchner

(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Gintare Karpaviciute)

The game will be played from June 15 to June 13, 2025 in the familiar format of the Men's World Cup with eight groups of four. "Of course, we know that this would be a challenge and would bring our club the necessary prestige," said Seonbuchner. There would be one or two more opportunities. "But that's all subjunctive. And the subjunctive doesn't help us. As soon as it's clear that we're in, we'll deal with it concretely."

Seonbuchner met with Bayern's sporting director Christoph Freund, his predecessor in Salzburg, on Thursday at the Cup semi-final against Sturm (3:4). He wished him good luck - but not for the clashes with Arsenal (April 9 in London, April 17 in Munich), but for the league game on Saturday (today) in Heidenheim. "We didn't even talk about Arsenal and possible scenarios behind it."

Then England get third starting place
Should the Londoners progress against FC Bayern, record winners Real Madrid or defending champions Manchester City will be the next hurdles in the semi-finals of the top flight. Only Arsenal's CL title would give England a third place in the Club World Cup. Otherwise, the country contingents are limited to two.

Chelsea, Real and Man City are seeded as CL winners of the past three years. Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, FC Porto, Benfica Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus Turin have also already secured their tickets via the European Cup rankings since 2020. They will be joined by Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona as the second Spanish team. The remaining 20 Club World Cup participants will come from other continental associations.

Salzburg threatened with notable departures
Salzburg could already have to deal with notable departures in its defense this summer. Regulars Strahinja Pavlovic, Oumar Solet and Amar Dedic are reportedly being courted by clubs in the top leagues. Seonbuchner was tight-lipped with regard to concrete offers. "As far as transfer activity is concerned, it's still relatively quiet. We've only just slipped into April." The team is concentrating on the crucial weeks in the championship, including the home clash against Rapid on Sunday (17:00). "That's why I can't say anything great about that."

Salzburg coach Gerhard Struber

(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

"We are very impressed with Hendry"
A future replacement is already available in the form of Hendry Blank, who was brought in from Dortmund in the winter for a rumored four million euros. The 19-year-old has not yet played a minute for Salzburg, but was in the squad for the fourth time in the Cup semi-final. Prior to that, he had been plagued by a flu-like infection for weeks. "We are very impressed with Hendry," said Salzburg coach Gerhard Struber. At the moment, the German U20 team player is in a backup role in central defense. "But we see every day in training what the lad brings to the table - and also that he will be absolutely valuable to us in the future."