Rangers learn FIFA Club World Cup fate as Ibrox club miss out on whopping £50million riches

Rangers have been ruled OUT of the newly-expanded Club World Cup after a meeting between FIFA delegates - ensuring they will miss out of a stunning £50million cash boost.

The Ibrox club stood an outside chance of being part of the money-spinning 32-team tournament scheduled to take place in the USA in 2025, but have now discovered their coefficient points will not be enough to guarantee their inclusion.

The lucrative competition will be played out by some of the biggest clubs around the world including Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea who had already clinched their spots as previous Champions League winners. A new calculation system also means they will be joined by Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan, FC Porto and Benfica.

The decision comes after FIFA's ruling Council, which is fronted by FA chair Debbie Hewitt, met at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Jeddah and agreed on a new ruling that only coefficient points earned in the Champions League over a four-year period will count towards overall rankings.

Based on the last four campaigns including this term, Rangers sat at 26th and would have been locked in a battle with the likes of Club Brugge (Belgium) and Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) to seal qualification. But that opportunity has disappeared as a result of the recent changes and leaves the Light Blues and rivals Celtic needing to perform well in Europe's elite competition over the next four seasons to have any chance of featuring in the 2029 version.

All countries will be limited to TWO places in the tournament - staged between June 15 and July 23 - unless they have more European champions. For example, that means Premier League giants Arsenal could secure a third English slot and force both Manchester United and Liverpool out of contention.

At least THREE spots - four if Manchester City or Ream Madrid win this season's Champions League Final at Wembley - can be secured during the knockout stage of this campaign's tournament. Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid are currently in pole position to rubber-stamp their place but they can still be overtaken.

Confirmed places for 2025 Club World Cup

Past Champions League winners - Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City

Through Champions League coefficient points - Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan, FC Porto, Benfica

Can qualify if they win Champions League this season - Arsenal, FC Copenhagen, PSV Eindhoven, Real Sociedad

Can qualify through Champions League coefficient (one per country) - Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Barcelona, Juventus, Napoli, RB Salzburg, Lazio