Chelsea earned an additional £15.5 million after defeating Palmeiras in the quarter-finals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. So far, the Blues have earned more than £61 million after a difficult run in the US.
Coach Enzo Maresca introduced new signing Joao Pedro in the 2-1 victory over Palmeiras. Pedro flew directly to the US after completing transfer procedures from Brighton. The win over Brazil in Philadelphia means the Blues can pay Neto's £60 million transfer fee.
Chelsea will meet another Brazilian side, Fluminense, in the semi-finals in New York, with a minimum prize of £21.9 million if they win. That is the amount of money they will earn if they can reach the final.
If Chelsea win the tournament, they will earn about £90 million - a large amount of money to ease worries about any violation of financial fairness laws in another summer of large spending in the transfer market. They signed Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30 million, in addition to the agreement to bring Jamie Gittens of Dortmund to Stamford Bridge that has also been completed.
However, Maresca has affirmed that he is not under any pressure from the board to win the highest prize money.
"The owners, they just want the best for us and the players in every game. They are not talking about a final prize or a cash prize. And they never put pressure on me or the players.
They just want to try to win for everyone, for themselves, for the club, for the fans, for the players... The problem is not just money," said the Italian captain.
Chelsea have received about 25 million pounds when participating in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. They then added £3 million with two group stage wins, in addition to £5.5 million in the round of 16.
In the knockout round, The Blues beat Benfica for an additional £9.7m, with a recent win over Palmeiras earning them an additional £15.5m.
Manchester City were eliminated from the round of 16 after a surprising loss to Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal. However, they still returned home with a bonus of more than 40 million pounds.
The money earned at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 also helps Chelsea cover a large transfer fee this summer. The Blues have only earned nearly £20 million when they liquidated 3 players, including Kepa Arrizabalaga, Bashir Humphreys and Marcus Bertinelli.
