Chelsea celebrate reaching the Club World Cup final
Chelsea celebrate reaching the Club World Cup final, but will they pay for their success next season?
Is the Club World Cup worth the cash? Europe's elite have been asking themselves that question all summer. Manchester City banked around £38million from a four-game stay in the United States and was furious at being dumped out of the competition by Al Hilal.
For Bayern Munich, a run to the quarter-finals isn't worth the loss of Jamal Musiala, who suffered a dreadful leg injury in their defeat to Paris St-Germain. Other clubs will count the pennies next to the cost of fitness when the real action starts in August.
Being crowned world champions might sound grand, but ask any of the big hitters from Europe if they would rather win this or the Champions League, and we know what the answer will be. Many of them might even prefer to win their domestic leagues.
That is probably the case for England's two entrants. There is a school of thought that, as disappointed as were by their shock defeat to the Saudi Pro League side, it might actually do them some good. It allowed the players a four-week break before a three-week block of pre-season training.
Those teams still going strong across the Atlantic won't get the same benefits. By the time Chelsea's participation ends in Sunday's final at the MetLife Stadium, City's squad will have spent the best part of 12 days on the beach.
Victory against Real Madrid or Paris St-Germain will take Chelsea's total earnings to £97million, an invaluable sum for a club flirting with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). The unknown cost is the impact it will have on a campaign in the most physically demanding league in the world and on Chelsea's return to the Champions League.
Speaking before City were knocked out, Pep Guardiola admitted he had no idea how their excursions in the Club World Cup would affect them next season. Every club taking part is in uncharted territory, which means nobody is quite sure what the impact will be.
“I try not to think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious,” Guardiola said. “We will rest the time the Premier League allows us to.
"And game by game, month by month, we will see. And maybe in November, December, January, I may say: ‘So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us.’
"I don’t know, but it’s the first time in our life that [the Club World Cup has] happened. So we will see."
The good news for City is that the impact on them shouldn't be as obvious now. They are no longer the Premier League guinea pigs when it comes to the Club World Cup.
Instead, Chelsea will be the team everyone watches as they assess the merits of the competition. Enzo Maresca's side will play seven games in the Club World Cup, and the final is just under five weeks before the Premier League season begins.
There will be plenty of analysis of how Chelsea plans to shape that break. Their players will need a rest, but there is a danger they will go into the season undercooked.
As Guardiola pointed out, there is also a chance that they hit a flat spot in the winter when the games come around thick and fast. Chelsea's unexpected run to the final means Premier League clubs will now have the data they need to plan for the next tournament.
That is currently planned for 2029, and a maximum of two Premier League teams will make it. There has been plenty of speculation that FIFA boss Gianni Infantino will push for it to be every two years, but if Chelsea fall off a cliff this season, then the alarm bells will be ringing for the next set of entrants.
Kevin de Bruyne is one of - if not the - greatest players to play for Manchester City.
He leaves the club having won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and a memorable Champions League victory!
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To mark his amazing time at the Etihad Stadium, this special edition has been produced - KDB The King - to celebrate Kev's career with the Blues. We look back at his 10 best games in Blue, celebrate his title wins and hear from the City boss and a host of team-mates and football elite who give their views on what makes him so special.
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