Chelsea reigned supreme in their opening match of the reformed FIFA Club World Cup.
A goal from Pedro Neto and a strike by Enzo Fernandez secured a 2-0 win for the Blues over Los Angeles in the United States, putting Chelsea top of Group D, for now at least.
33' ⚽ GOAL! Pedro Neto nets the first goal for @ChelseaFC 🔥
Watch the @FIFACWC | June 14 – July 13 | Every Game | Free | https://t.co/i0K4eUtwwb | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld #CHELAF pic.twitter.com/DAnKWNXDGo
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 16, 2025
Flamengo and ES Tunis – the other sides in Group D – face off at 02:00 (BST).
Enzo Maresca will know there is still a long way to go in the FIFA Club World Cup for Chelsea, but victory over Los Angeles secured a surprisingly large amount of prize money for the west Londoners.
Chelsea bank £1.5m after defeating Los Angeles
Neto – who Arsenal wanted to sign – and Fernandez have now ensured that £1.5m will be landing in Chelsea’s bank account with their strikes in the 34th minute and 79th minute respectively.
A single Group Stage win at the FIFA Club World Cup is worth £1.5m to each side, and even a payment of £800,000 is handed out in the event of a draw.
Should Chelsea go all the way in the United States and win the trophy, they would receive £30m – which is 15 times the £2m fee handed to the winners of the FA Cup.
Even reaching the final alone merits a sum larger than the £21.1m PSG received for winning the UEFA Champions League.
Group Stage: £1.5m per win (£800,000 for a draw)
Round of 16: £5.8m
Quarter-Final: £10.1m
Semi-Final: £16.2m
Finalist: £23.2m
Winner: £30m
Therefore, while this competition does add a potential of seven more games to the schedule for Maresca and his players after a gruelling 2024/25 campaign, the financial rewards are at least quite substantial.
How Chelsea’s prize money compares to the salary bill of Los Angeles
The fee Chelsea – who still hope to sign Mike Maignan – received for this single win would roughly be enough to pay the wages of every Los Angeles player for nine weeks, according to figures on Capology.
Opening @ChelseaFC's #FIFACWC account. 🔓 pic.twitter.com/dMhGV0VLer
— FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) June 16, 2025
The Major League Soccer side have a weekly payroll of £167,545 – which works out at £1.508m when multiplied by nine.
Top five earners at Los Angeles
Denis Bouanga (£41,831-a-week)
Olivier Giroud (£40,112-a-week)
Marlon (£19,340-a-week)
Aaron Long (£18,047-a-week)
Ryan Hollingshead (£9,240-a-week)
Top five earners at Chelsea
Reece James (£250,000-a-week)
Raheem Sterling (£215,000-a-week)
Wesley Fofana (£200,000-a-week)
Christopher Nkunku (£195,000-a-week)
Enzo Fernandez (£180,000-a-week)
In regards to the wage bill at Chelsea, Capology show the Blues shell out £3.27m a week on salaries, so not even two wins at the FIFA Club World Cup would be enough to cover these expenses.