Chelsea FC head coach Enzo Maresca holds the FIFA Club World Cup trophy
Chelsea FC head coach Enzo Maresca holds the FIFA Club World Cup trophy
Aston Villa's Premier League rivals Chelsea claimed the Club World Cup title on Sunday evening, a triumph to complement their success in the Europa Conference League at the back end of last season - and that brought with it the financial riches which accompanied it.
saw off European champions PSG in emphatic style in New York, beating them 3-0 thanks to a brace from Cole Palmer and a strike from new signing Joao Pedro, having beaten Fluminense in the semi-finals of the newly expanded competition taking place in the States.
On top of qualifying for the Champions League on the final day of last season, beating Nottingham Forest and claiming a top five place at the expense of them and of , who were beaten by Manchester United at Old Trafford, Chelsea are certainly benefitting from monies earned in various competitions in the last couple of months alone.
On Sunday, they secured a total of £84m to add to their club coffers, broken down by £21.3m for participating in the Cup and then £62.7m for their performance prize money. The other English team, , who were knocked out earlier in the tournament, banked £37m themselves.
It's meant that Chelsea have more money to spend, and certainly helps their cause with PSR, a situation which has frustrated many associated with Villa, who have had to toe the financial line themselves in each of the last two summers for fear of breaching the rules and being punished.
The Blues have already signed Joao Pedro for north of £50m this summer and have agreed a deal to bring Jamie Gittens back to England from Borussia Dortmund for a similar fee. They've also signed Liam Delap from Ipswich Town for £30m and have spent money on Kendry Paez, Estevao Willian, Mike Penders, Mamadou Sarr and Dario Essugo.
It's estimated that Chelsea are committed to spending in the region of £230m already this summer, well in advance of the beginning of the new league season and with more transfer irons seemingly in the fire.
What should Villa do in the summer window?
adidas Aston Villa range - how to get yours!
Aston Villa have announced that they are selling a new range of fashion items that fans are going to be clamouring to get hold of ahead of the new season - including a limited edition of the iconic adidas Samba range.
The Villa colours are displayed on the trainers and they also show off the Villa badge.
You can also find an adidas DNA hoody which comes in simple Villa colours and a low key traditional adidas design.
The same design can be found on classic adidas track top on offer, this is the type of track top that fans love to wear -
The DNA range continues with a claret and blue t-shirt - , and on the training pants which can also be matched with any of the items -
Everyday, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.
Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter .
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.
If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple and for Android .
Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel , while you can access the podcast on Spotify and via Apple .