The competition will bring together Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club in the Saudi city of Riyadh this week. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pays 30 million euros a year to the Royal Spanish Football Federation to host the event.
The tournament that originally pitted the LaLiga champion against the Copa del Rey champion moved from Spain for the first time in 2018. In that edition, still held in summer, this format was preserved in a title raised by FC Barcelona after winning (2 -1) to Sevilla.
It was in 2020, moving the Spanish Super Cup to the month of January, when the format was released final four and it was decided to land in Saudi Arabia. Then the runners-up of the aforementioned tournaments were also included. As FC Barcelona lost the cup final and won LaLiga, it was decided to invite Real Madrid, third in it. Curiously, the final was between the meringues and Atlético de Madrid, who would not have been present in the previous format.
The initial agreement between said country and the Royal Spanish Football Federation was to host the tournament between 2019 and 2021, but the previous edition was held at the La Cartuja Stadium (Seville) due to the impact of COVID-19. On that occasion, Real Madrid and Real Sociedad came as winners of LaLiga and the Copa del Rey, while FC Barcelona and Athletic Club did so as second. Again, the final was played by those who would not have played the tournament in its original format.
The agreement was renewed for the next triennium, between 2022 and 2024, and according to the newspaper Confidential, it is expected that it will even last six more years. In this way, the Federation would ensure about 30 million annual income for moving the tournament to that country. Part of this figure is distributed among the participants, while another remains in the football body.
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