Chelsea bagged an additional £15.5million after defeating Palmeiras in the Club World Cup quarter-finals early Saturday morning, taking their total earnings from the tournament to more than £61million.
Manager Enzo Maresca handed a debut to new recruit Joao Pedro during the 2-1 victory, following his immediate arrival in the States after finalising his transfer from Brighton. The win against the Brazilian side in Philadelphia effectively helps cover Pedro’s £60million transfer fee, with the potential for further financial gain on the horizon.
The Blues are set to face another Brazilian team, Fluminense, in the semi-finals on Tuesday night in New York, with at least £21.9million up for grabs should they secure a win. This is the amount they stand to earn if they progress to the final.
If Chelsea clinch the contentious competition, they could pocket around £90million – a significant sum that would alleviate concerns of any financial fair play violations amidst another summer of hefty spending in the transfer market. They’ve already acquired Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30million and completed a deal for Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund.
Despite the substantial prize money at stake, head coach Maresca has maintained throughout the group stages that he feels no extra pressure from the club’s owners due to the potential financial windfall, reports the Mirror.
“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,” Maresca said before playing ES Tunis. “They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money.”
Chelsea began their FIFA Club World Cup journey with a guaranteed participation fee of around £25million, bolstered by an additional £3million from two group stage victories and £5.5million for advancing to the round of 16. Their triumph over Benfica netted them a further £9.7million, while defeating Palmeiras added another £15.5million to their earnings.
Despite Manchester City’s unexpected exit at the round of 16 against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, they still amassed over £40million in prize money, including the full participation award of £27.9million.
FIFA Club World Cup prize money breakdown:.
– Group stage: $2million (£1.47million) per win, $1million (£740,000) per draw for each club.
– Round of 16: $7.5million (£5.5million).
– Quarter-final: $13.125million (£9.67million).
– Semi-final: $21million (£15.46million).
– Finalist: $30million (£22.1million).
– Winner: $40million (£29.46million).
Learn more
The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world’s best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13.
Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.
