By Jacob Steinberg, in New York
Chelsea have already made more than £80m from their Club World Cup (CWC) adventure but they can achieve something priceless against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) today in the CWC Final.
Kick off is 8pm Nigeria Time.
This goes beyond gaudy gold badges and money in the bank. The season with no end is almost over, the final of the tournament that nobody asked for is here and while Chelsea have no intention of getting carried away if they triumph in New Jersey today, it is also the case that there would be no better way to demonstrate that they are on to something with their youth-driven project, than by beating Luis Enrique’s awesome PSG.
Easier said than done, of course. One school of thought is that Chelsea will have done well if they leave MetLife Stadium with their dignity intact.
Premier League opponents hold no fears for PSG, whose path to Champions League glory was paved by wins over Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal, while they were in terrifying form against Real Madrid on Wednesday. It finished 4-0, but it could have been 10; PSG really were that good and the reality is there will only be one outcome if they hit those heights again.
A free hit for Chelsea, then? They have made plenty of cash from the tournament, boosting their profitability and sustainability position.
They have answered questions about their mentality by coming through a series of challenges. Clear evidence of progress means Chelsea face the European champions able to resist the temptation to judge themselves on one big game.
Chelsea aim to be sustainable. That means maintaining a steady temperament no matter what happens against PSG.
It is worth going back to the club finishing 12th in their first season under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. The criticism was fierce and sustained. The perception was of a chaotic institution.
Yet Chelsea stuck with the strategy implemented in January 2023 and continued to buy more young players. They know that they have made mistakes along the way – there is no appetite for any more mid-season managerial changes – but there is satisfaction with how they have not deviated from their chosen path.
Replacing Mauricio Pochettino, whose approach did not suit the squad, with the more technical but more inexperienced Enzo Maresca last summer?
“It’s much more about tactics,” Malo Gusto, the Chelsea right-back, said of the change to Maresca from Pochettino. “That’s why we are in the final – it’s because of him.”
Chelsea laugh at the narrative about needing older players. They won the Conference League last season and are back in the Champions League.
They appear to have bought well this summer and are pleased with the recruitment team of Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart, Sam Jewell and Joe Shields.
It was noted before the tournament that results will follow if you put the right strategies in place and build patiently.
Chelsea have invested in data and scouting. It cannot be a coincidence that they are the second-youngest team at the Club World Cup.
The youngest? PSG. A source suggests that PSG and Chelsea have given other clubs a model to follow. “Aggressive, fresh teams,” is the observation. Another is that Chelsea were signing young players long before PSG adopted the model.
PSG are further along in their development, though. Having a dash of experience in key areas surely helps while they also have the more established coach.
Chelsea met with Luis Enrique after sacking Graham Potter in April 2023, only to go with Pochettino. Hindsight is a funny thing. It is not easy to know how a foreign coach will adapt to the Premier League.
Luis Enrique had just come off a disappointing World Cup with Spain. It is not rewriting history to say his stock was not as high as it is now; that he had dipped since winning the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015.
