Chelsea has the opportunity to win one of the more non-traditional doubles by an English side.
After winning the Conference League in May — the third-tier competition within UEFA’s international pyramid behind the Champions League and Europa League — the Premier League side’s 2-0 defeat of Brazil’s Fluminense at MetLife Stadium just outside New York City on Tuesday has them in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final.
Enzo Maresca’s side, which rose above the countless taunts of an endless roster in which American owner Todd Boehly practically bought everything with a promising foot, finished fourth in the Premier League after finishing 12th in 2022-23 and sixth last year.
The Club World Cup would put a tidy bow on a significant step forward for the West London giants, but their test is as stiff as they come in Paris-Saint Germain.
The powerhouses from the French capital are in pursuit of a historic quadruple. They won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France before demolishing Inter Milan 5-0 for their first-ever Champions League title.
In the United States, they have looked just as dominant, headlined by a 4-0 thrashing of the legendary Real Madrid in the semifinals on Wednesday, also at MetLife Stadium.
Chelsea is a significant underdog heading into the Final, which will transform the usual home of the New York Giants and Jets into the epicenter of the sporting world on Sunday afternoon, a dress rehearsal of sorts before it hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final next summer.
Despite their standing, they might just be the more desperate side, at the directive of Boehly, to stabilize their finances.
Chelsea has hemorrhaged money since Boehly joined in 2022-23, so much so that the club is doing everything possible to avoid punishment under the Premier League profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
If a team posts losses over $142.2 million over a three-year span, they could suffer a points deduction, which Everton experienced in 2023-24 when they were docked eight points for breaching the PSR by $16.6 million.
Boehly has gotten creative in an attempt to sidestep the damage that has come from spending over $1 billion on players. He sold two Stamford Bridge hotels before signing over the club’s women’s team to a sister company for $276 million, which is nothing more than a loophole.
The Premier League’s failure to close that loophole allowed the club to breathe a bit easier and stay under that $142.2 million threshold.
Thanks to the $1 billion prize pool, Chelsea has already made a pretty penny at the Club World Cup. Just qualifying for the tournament earned them between $12.8 million and $38.1 million. Another $4 million came from two wins in the group stage.
For reaching the Round of 16, the Blues received a $7.5 million prize and then got an additional $13.125 million for beating Benfica. Taking down Palmeiras in the quarterfinal earned them another $21 million, and Tuesday’s triumph over Fluminense in the final added $30 million.
That has already secured them between $91 million and $113 million.
They are guaranteed another $30 million just for making the Final, but could make an extra $10 million for winning it. That would bring their total haul to a potential maximum of $153 million.
When asked if there was any added pressure to win the Club World Cup given Chelsea’s uncertain finances, Maresca downplayed the situation.
“The owners just want the best for us and for the players game by game, and they are not talking about the final prize or the final reward in terms of money,” he said. “They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money.”
