Chelsea’s main motivation behind their Club World Cup campaign will no doubt be financially based as the players push themselves through the gruelling fixture list.
Enzo Maresca took charge of 57 games in his first season at the club, however the players are now set for at least three more in the United States.
The Blues will get their campaign underway with a fixture against LAFC, a side whose market value is lower than the fee Chelsea paid for Axel Disasi.
Chelsea are expected to coast through the group stages and line themselves up for a significant financial injection, however they could be about to sacrifice a large portion of that because they do not have a shirt sponsor in place for the Club World Cup.
The Blues had DAMAC on the front of their shirt for the final few games of the 2024/25 campaign, however they have not yet sorted a new deal with another company.
Finance expert Adam Williams has exclusively told The Chelsea Chronicle that Chelsea are set to lose up to £90m from the time they have hesitated over agreeing a deal for a front of shirt sponsorship.
He said: “Presumably, Chelsea will have been aware of FIFA’s rules on sponsorship well in advance of the tournament. There will have been a handbook circulated to all teams and they’ll have had the chance to raise any questions they have.
“So the fact that they still haven’t got a front-of-shirt sponsor says that they’ve not made a final decision on the partner for 2025-26. The timing of the deal is going to have a knock-on effect.
“For one, the nature of production and logistics means that the new sponsor isn’t going to be featured on the shirts on sale to fans. You also have a limited amount of time to get your marketing campaigns in order – and there’s a lot of work that goes into those things.
“I think that in turn can have an impact on the value of the package. From what I hear, they are looking for £60m per season, but if you’re rushing the agreement through then that’s going to have an impact on its value.
“They’ve probably lost £70-90m in total from their hesitation in this department. And if the wait is going to go on into the rest of the summer and the start of 2025-26, that’s only going to increase.“
Chelsea’s potential Club World Cup prize money
Chelsea will have to get the better of the likes of PSG, Manchester City and Real Madrid in order to win the Club World Cup, however the financial rewards are very lucrative.
Williams has claimed that the Blues would receive £97m for winning the competition, however believes their shirt sponsor exploits are going to cost them in the long run.
He said: “If they win the Club World Cup, they’ll get £97m in prize money, so it’s about the same amount as the revenue they’ll have wiped out in their inaction with the sponsor negotiations.
“They think they’re being very clever by holding out and not just taking the biggest cheque on offer but I find it very hard to believe that, when they do sign a deal, the benefits of that approach are going to outweigh the cash they have already lost.“
The Blues get underway with the game against LAFC, before taking on Flamengo and ES Tunis in the next 10 days to try and book their place in the Round of 16.
