Argentina FA accused of £4.5m fee demand and split-payment request before World Cup semi-final

Argentina’s football association has been accused of demanding a $6 million (£4.5m) appearance fee — and requesting the payment be split across multiple bank accounts — before agreeing to play a pre-tournament friendly against Mexico, reports in Mexico claim. The allegations have surfaced days before Argentina face England in a World Cup semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Mexican journalist Carlos Ponce de León, quoted by Record Mexico, said the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) approached Argentina to mark the reopening of the newly renamed Estadio Banorte — formerly the Estadio Azteca — in Mexico City with a friendly in March. The 90,000-capacity venue had undergone a revamp ahead of the tri-nation North American tournament.

“Mexico, while looking for opponents to finalize its preparation ahead of the 2026 World Cup, ended up finding Portugal and Belgium, but it had already made contact with Argentina,” Ponce de León said. “There was already an agreement with Argentina to play against the reigning world champions.”

The deal unravelled, he claimed, when Argentina’s federation stated its price. “From the Argentine Federation, they told the Mexican Federation: ‘You know what, it’s $6 million dollars for the match.’ It’s crazy. They are the national team that charges the most to play a soccer match, even more expensive than Portugal.”

Ponce de León added that the request to distribute the fee across different accounts proved the final sticking point. “They told the FMF: ‘It’s $6 million, but you deposit one part here, another part here, and another part here.’ The Mexican Federation said: ‘I’ll give you the money and you can distribute it however you want.’ The response was: ‘No, we need your help with this.’ That’s when the warning signs appeared, and the FMF said: ‘We are not going to get involved in problems.’” Mexico subsequently arranged friendlies with Portugal and Belgium instead.

The Argentine Football Association has not publicly responded to the allegations. Lionel Scaloni’s side, the reigning world champions, now face Thomas Tuchel’s England on Wednesday for a place in Sunday’s World Cup final.