Chelsea’s players will be disappointed with their defeat against Flamengo on Friday but so will the club’s owners.
Enzo Maresca‘s men lost 3-1 at Lincoln Financial Field and did not play particularly well despite Filipe Luis’ fears heading into the game.
Luis claimed he had sleepless nights as he thought about Chelsea‘s tactical play, but it was Flamengo who came out on top in the end.
As a result, the Blues have been dealt a bit of a financial blow, though they can correct things with a win against Esperance Sportive de Tunis next Wednesday.
Chelsea miss out on chance to earn £7.3m
The Club World Cup has sparked controversy because of the amount of extra games it has added to the calendar and the money involved.
There is a lot of money up for grabs at the tournament, with teams receiving £1.5m for a win during the group stage.
As per BBC Sport, Chelsea would have earned not only that amount, but also another £5.8m had they beaten Flamengo, as they would have progressed to the last 16.
Each team that makes it to that stage of the competition will receive that sum, meaning Chelsea have just missed out on £7.3m in total following their loss to Luis’ side.
However, they can earn the same amount with a win against Esperance Sportive de Tunis, their final opponents of the group stage.
Andrey Santos could start that game after Maresca promised on Friday that he would give the midfielder an opportunity at some point.
Chelsea still earning money for just participating at Club World Cup
Chelsea are earning somewhere between £9.9m–£29.6m just for being in the United States right now, so they will be leaving this tournament with something regardless.
It may be a while before they qualify for it again, however. If the Blues perform as they did against Flamengo in the Champions League, they will not be going anywhere in Europe’s elite competition. That means no qualification for the next Club World Cup.
