Manchester City, who are making their first appearance in the Club World Cup, will face AFC Champions League champions Urawa Red Diamonds in the semi-finals. Manchester City, with a total value of 1.26 billion euros, is the Champions League champion, and there is no suspense in beating Urawa Red Diamonds. On December 19, British Chat Sports Radio pointed out that Manchester City has a winner in his life, and is expected to win the Club World Cup on behalf of three different teams, setting a historical record.
The winner in life is 29-year-old Kovacic.
Mateo Kovacic joined Manchester City from Chelsea this summer for €29.1 million. Kovacic is not part of Manchester City's treble winning team, but he arrived at the Blue Moon to catch up with the Club World Cup. For the likes of Erling Haaland, Rodri and B, this is the first time they have experienced the Club World Cup, but for Mateo Kovacic, the Club World Cup is nothing new – he has already lifted the FIFA Club World Cup trophy four times!
The 29-year-old Kovacic has played four clubs in the past 11 years: in January 2013, Kovacic joined Inter from Dinamo Zagreb, in the summer of 2015, the Croatian midfielder came to Real Madrid, in the summer of 2019, Kovacic officially moved to Chelsea, and in July this year, Kovacic jumped to Manchester City.
Kovacic's wealth of experience has also brought Kovacic many accolades, including the Club World Cup. Real Madrid in the Zidane era staged three consecutive Champions League titles. Mateo Kovacic has won the Club World Cup three times (2016, 2017, 2018) as a member of Real Madrid, and in 2022, Kovacic lifted the trophy with Chelsea.
Kovacic's four Club World Cup trophies are not all-time records - Real Madrid's Kroos has won the Club World Cup six times, while Carvajal, Benzema, Nacho, Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo have all five Club World Cup trophies. However, Kovacic is expected to set an unprecedented record of winning the Club World Cup with three different teams.
There are a number of players who have won the Club World Cup on behalf of two different teams – Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United and Real Madrid), Kroos (Bayern Munich and Real Madrid), Alaba (Bayern Munich and Real Madrid) and Rudiger (Chelsea and Real Madrid), but no player has won the Club World Cup with three different teams. The 29-year-old Kovacic will set a 20-year record in the competition.
A player like Kovacic is an absolute winner in life: not a top superstar, not even an absolute mainstay, but the honor is soft. 4 Champions Leagues, 4 Club World Cups, 4 UEFA Super Cups, 1 Europa League, except for two and a half years without a harvest at Inter, Kova has been able to reap the glory wherever she goes, setting some enviable records.