Chelsea feel no pressure to win $130M CWC prize

Enzo Maresca said Chelsea are not nether immoderate fiscal unit to assistance the Club World Cup contempt the £97 cardinal ($130 million) connected connection to the winner.

The Blues look a scramble to suffice for the circular of 16, needing to debar decision against Esperance de Tunis successful Philadelphia connected Tuesday to unafraid 2nd spot successful Group D.

They volition person successful the portion of £40m conscionable for participating successful the 32-team tournament, but the prize wealth increases importantly successful the knockout rounds.

Chelsea were afloat compliant with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules for the 2023-24 season, but their accounts showed they sold their Copthorne and Millennium hotels astatine Stamford Bridge for £76.5m to a sister institution -- a arguable determination which ESPN exclusively revealed past September had been approved by the Premier League.

They have besides sold their women's team to genitor institution BlueCo for a women's shot grounds interest of £200m. UEFA is inactive investigating some transactions arsenic they subordinate to their ain Financial Fair Play rules.

The Blues person continued their lavish spending with much than £1.2bn committed connected caller players since the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital ownership took complaint successful May 2022 and Maresca insisted determination had been nary conversations astir the monetary value of succeeding astatine the Club World Cup.

"The owners, they conscionable privation the champion for america and for the players crippled by game," said Maresca. "They are not talking astir the last prize oregon the last reward successful presumption of money. And they ne'er enactment unit connected maine oregon the players successful presumption of 'we request to triumph this tourney due to the fact that of the money.'

"They conscionable privation to effort to triumph for everyone -- for them, for the club, for the fans, for the players, for me, for everyone. It is not conscionable astir the wealth side."

Reece James missed Chelsea's grooming league connected Monday owed to unwellness arsenic temperatures surged towards 100-degrees-F successful Philadelphia.