The ripple effect from last weekend’s big wave victory continues to cascade around the Los Angeles Football Club.
At least two more Major League Soccer matches, a June 13 date at home against Toronto and a June 25 contest in Salt Lake City, have been rescheduled to accommodate LAFC’s trio of Club World Cup group stage games beginning Tuesday in Atlanta against Chelsea FC.
With that, the possibility of inbound moves during a FIFA transfer window, limited to the 32 Club World Cup teams, remains open through June 10.
Said LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington: “We’ll look at all possibilities and if the right option presents itself we have to deal with timing, immigration, all of these things, and think about the potential positive impact that may have on the group as soon as the 16th. So it’s a lot to evaluate, but we’re going to exhaust all possibilities.”
And then there’s the riptidiest current: Club World Cup compensation.
LAFC players have joined their MLS brethren in Seattle and Miami, asking for changes to the financial structure currently enshrined in the league’s collective bargaining agreement that limits each roster’s share of the prize pool to $1 million.
The CBA, signed in 2020, was negotiated before FIFA boosted the Club World Cup from eight teams to the expansive $1 billion tournament set to take place in the States from June 14 to July 13.
“Now we all are in the same boat in terms of what happens moving forward,” Thorrington said. “And my hope — I think I share this with everybody involved — would be the sooner we find the right solution the better. So I trust this will never be a distraction for our guys.”
Players, though, have acknowledged that the money talk is preoccupying ahead of a league match against Sporting Kansas City (4-8-4, 16 points) on Sunday at BMO Stadium, when LAFC (6-4-5, 23 points) has a chance to extend its unbeaten streak to 10 heading into the global competition.
“You can’t treat anything normal with this lingering in the background,” LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said. “And the fact that they’ve delayed as long as they have to make any sort of proposal to players and come to the table at all is, of course, going to affect this MLS game. It’s going to affect us going into the Club World Cup, which is what we as players are trying to not have happen.”
While Seattle and Miami players had months to address their concerns, once LAFC toppled Club América last Saturday to secure a guaranteed $9.55 million participation prize, the conversation became real for them.
Unlike Seattle and Miami, LAFC players will also receive a $250,000 bonus for defeating América, sources confirmed, providing them $1.25 million to share evenly across the roster if nothing else changes.
A person with knowledge of the discussions between the MLS Players’ Association and the league indicated that progress has been made toward providing players with a percentage of the performance bonuses that have been earmarked for Club World Cup results.
Many players on non-MLS squads are poised to earn bonuses based solely on performance. Depending on how teams fare, that amount could skyrocket, considering $475 million will be up for grabs on the pitch.
Group stage wins are worth $2 million. Draws, $1 million. Bonuses for the knockouts increase with each successive step — $7.5 million to move beyond the Round of 16, $13.125 million for the quarterfinal, and $21 million to advance past the semis. The last club standing earns another $40 million, while the runner-up pockets $30 million.
All told, the 2025 Club World Cup champion could earn a potential payout of $125 million. Though a deep run by an MLS side would be unexpected, reaping rewards is not the entire point of the ongoing discussion.
For players, this moment is about setting a benchmark that they won’t compete for anything. For owners across the league, who must vote on any new terms regarding the 2025 Club World Cup, it’s about setting a floor for future CBA discussions prior to the expiration of the current deal on Jan. 31, 2028. For MLS, which has declined to publicly comment on the issue, it’s about guiding discussions as that process moves forward.
“I would reiterate the fact that this shouldn’t be an adversarial conversation,” LAFC attacker Jeremy Ebobisse said. “We should be working hand-in-hand with MLS to best represent as one of the three teams that are going. Having three teams in the tournament, this is a moment to show the world that MLS is here to play.”
SPORTING KANSAS CITY AT LAFC
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles
TV/Radio: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV/710 AM, 980 AM
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