THR plays the numbers game to find the most expensive team, priciest star, the bookies' odds for the favorite to win the tournament in Brazil and other surprising figures.
LONDON – The FIFA World Cup in Brazil is set to kick off Thursday with the host nation playing Croatia.
But even before the tournament starts, it has already set some records. Below, THR breaks down some of the records, key figures and surprising stats tied to the quadrennial event.
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Just like there are 11 players on a soccer team, here are 11 facts and figures about the big sports event...
$4.5 billion
That is the total estimated revenue for world soccer governing body FIFA from the World Cup in Brazil, a new record. Most of that money comes from TV networks for rights to the Cup and sponsors.
TV sales of the 2014 World Cup tournament have so far raised $1.73 billion, down slightly from the $1.74 billion generated for the 2010 event by the same time.
Top-tier sponsors Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates, Hyundai, Sony and Visa reportedly pay a combined $177.125 million annually, or $708.5 million over four years. Other sponsors include Budweiser, Castrol, Continental, Johnson & Johnson and McDonalds.
$2 billion
FIFA has estimated it would spend this much on the Brazil World Cup tournament, including costs for the local organizing committee.
The biggest single cost factor is the $576 million prize money that will be distributed to participating nations whenever they get eliminated. The figure is up 37 percent from 2010.
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$35 million
The prize money for the winning team's soccer federation, the highest award in World Cup history.
For the 2010 World Cup in South Africa the prize money for winner Spain amounted to $30 million. This year's runner-up will collect $25 million.
Before the tournament, each of the 32 entrants got $1.5 million to spend on preparations. The later a team gets eliminated in the tournament, the more money it wins its country's soccer body.
$14 billion
The estimated total cost for Brazil as host nation, which has a population of about 200 million. The figure includes spending on infrastructure, the construction and renovation of 12 stadiums and security.
According to organizers, this makes it the most expensive Cup in FIFA history. The high cost has led to unrest in Brazil, with critics saying the country needs more money for schools, hospitals and other things.
More than 3 million
That is the number of tickets that have been available for the 64-match tournament featuring 32 nations. Just before the World Cup, tickets were almost sold out.
''The financial success - we have it, it is done,'' FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said. ''The ticket sales success is there, we have never sold so many tickets.''
Around 600,000 visitors are projected to make the trip to Brazil for the World Cup.
1 billion
The estimated peak viewership of 2010 World Cup final Spain-Netherlands.
Estimates say about 530 million people watched the game. More than 900 million people watched at least one minute. Including fans watching in public viewing places, that figure is believed to have topped the 1 billion mark.
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That makes the soccer World Cup the biggest single-event sporting competition in the world.
19
The number of previous World Cup tournaments. They have been won by 8 different countries.
Brazil has won 5 times and is the only team to have been in every World Cup. Italy has won the Cup 4 times, Germany 3 times, Argentina and Uruguay twice each and England, France and Spain once each.
3/1
The betting odds for Brazil winning the World Cup on home turf, according to U.K. bookmaker William Hill.
Argentina has the second-best odds with 4/1, followed by Germany with 6/1 and Spain with 13/2. Dark horse Belgium follows with odds of 20/1.
World Cups in Latin American countries have so far always been won by Latin American teams.
Costa Rica, Honduras and Iran have the longest odds this year (2500/1), according to William Hill.
$900 million
The cost for the National Stadium in Brasilia, the country's capital.
The cost came in three times the original budget, making the venue the second most expensive soccer stadium in the world behind London's $1.2 billion Wembley Stadium. Critics say the 71,400-capacity stadium will not fill all its seats after the World Cup as Brasilia lacks a local team with enough drawing power.
The same goes for the $300 million new 42,000-seat Arena Amazonia in Manaus in the Amazon rainforest. An existing stadium with only 20,000 seats was torn down as it didn't meet FIFA regulations.
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The new venue, which looks like a straw basket and has seats painted in the colors of tropical fruit, will host four games at the World Cup, putting the cost for the big event at $75 million per game, or $833,333 per minute.
A local team in Brazil's fourth soccer division is scheduled to play in the venue after the World Cup, but one report recently have said the club currently tends to only draw about 1,000 regular fans.
$9.69 billion
The estimated total value of the 786 players in the World Cup tournament, according to trading site Transfermarkt.
The 23 players of Spain have a market value of $916 million, accounting for 9.5 percent of the total market, according to the firm. At the bottom of the ranking is Honduras whose players have an estimated value of $31.1 million, or 0.32 percent of the market.
Germany ranks second with an estimated market value of $828 million, ahead of Brazil's $689 million, according to Transfermarkt. Brazilian financial newspaper Valor recently estimated the value of the home side at $695 million.
$80 million
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentinian striker Lionel Messi are the highest paid players at the World Cup.
Forbes estimates that Ronaldo makes $80 million a year as of June, including salary and endorsement deals, ranking him only behind boxer Floyd Mayweather among global athletes and ahead of LeBron James.
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Among World Cup participants, Ronaldo is followed by Messi with $64.7 million and Brazil's Neymar with $33.6 million, according to the Forbes ranking.
England's Wayne Rooney has a big salary of $18.4 million, but makes less from endorsements than others, making $23.4 million overall, according to Forbes.
