When they finished in the bottom half of the Premier League two years ago, the notion of Chelsea competing with some of the best club sides in the world was fairly laughable.
It still feels a little far-fetched now, but their upward trajectory is undeniable and overdue (they officially have the most expensive squad ever built in the history of the sport).
They qualified for this tournament due to winning the Champions League in 2021, which feels like 40 years ago rather than four.
Back then, Thomas Tuchel was manager, Timo Werner was up front and Olivier Giroud (who is at least in this Club World Cup, with LAFC) was on the bench.
In our rankings, the west Londoners place highest on transfer spend by around £700million. So far, that has only won them the Conference League, European football’s third-tier competition, but will the Club World Cup follow?
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2025-06-16 16:00:07