Chelsea set to unlock Roman Abramovich's final gift after Enzo Maresca Club World Cup masterplan

When most of the footballing world was focusing on the Premier League, Champions League, or trying to take a break from the relentless news cycle, Chelsea took a different approach. They had started to promote the Club World Cup long before it started.

Their place in FIFA's revamped spectacle was confirmed in December 2023.At the time, Mauricio Pochettino's side were stranded in mid-table and had just come off the back of a 12th-place finish and were not delivering a much better response.

Despite this, by virtue of Thomas Tuchel's remarkable 2021 Champions League triumph under Roman Abramovich's ownership, just five months after he was appointed to replace Frank Lampard as manager, a largely unpopular decision, Chelsea qualified for the Club World Cup. Liverpool, Manchester City, and Barcelona were among the teams to miss out.

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Led by Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, it was confirmed that the newly structured tournament would include 32 teams and be held like an international World Cup, with a full group stage and knockout bracket. In the 18 months to follow, many have doubted the legitimacy.

What is it? Where is it? Who is it for? And, in the word's of Dave Batista's Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy, why is Club World Cup?

The nonsensical element of that question is only extended to the answer. FIFA want a slice of the club game. They wish to compete with UEFA and to have the showpiece themselves.

This is the world governing body changing the very fabric of a competition out of a desire for more stature. Players, managers, and welfare groups have all campaigned against it. Supporters are indifferent, at best. So why is it a thing?

After all, the Club World Cup has rarely been a major draw to anyone not competing in it anyway. FIFA wanted to change that and to shift the dial towards themselves. It was already a stretch to label it the Club World Cup in the first place.

Such are the riches of the Champions League (and simply getting into it), South American teams have had much more motivation and incentive to win the Club World Cup and to shake the shackles of Euro-centric discourse. It is more of an awkward obstacle than being viewed as a major trophy, for most under the UEFA umbrella.

When Chelsea, at their modern nadir, were put into it, yet more questions were asked. The ranking system of using coefficient points over a four-year cycle and then the continental competition winners brought about some unexpected entries, which have played out with some lop-sided results and uncompetitive action.

However, that did not stop Chelsea from promoting it as a serious event. This was a feather in their cap, belonging to this elite group of clubs.

Chelsea were bigging the Club World Cup up throughout the 2024/25 season and before. Some of it bordered on propaganda. Say something loud enough and people might believe it.

FIFA certainly used this tactic. Chelsea fell short of the trumpet-blowing methods used to elevate the new Club World Cup, but from an organisational perspective, they were in favour of leaning into it and getting the benefits. They even set out plans to win the whole thing and made a managerial change on the basis of incorporating it.

Pochettino moved on, partially because Chelsea did not want to risk his initial two-year contract ending just before the Club World Cup. They always stood by Enzo Maresca with the aim of seeing him through a supposed 'double season' that was linked by the Club World Cup.

They have relentlessly championed this tournament which takes an illogical place in the heart of the European club summer. The impacts will be profound, as Maresca himself has explained.

The players have complained of heat issues in America, of poor pitches, and of both mental and physical fatigue.The comical attendance throughout the first few weeks only added to the sense that FIFA had got this all wrong.

Ticket pricing - which continued to be a problem and divisive topic of embarrassment for FIFA right up to the semi-final stage - has been mocked. The weather delays and potential for that to have a detrimental affect on the actual World Cup next year have been highlighted in great detail. But there have been good bits.

The football has been pretty reasonable, for those who have watched. High profile shocks have happened with tension and rivalry seen.

Fans of the South American sides added plenty of colour and atmosphere. There has been a definite drive from all individuals to give it their all, regardless of the circumstances.

For Chelsea, this has been apparent. Maresca has chosen to go with his strongest team, or thereabouts, for most it. He has turned down the chances to integrate young or new players into the XI as much as he could have.

The club will benefit on a financial level even if the sporting side takes a substantial hit in the early weeks of the Premier League season. Chelsea earned more than £61million before the Fluminense semi-final and could take that up to £97million if they go the whole way.

This is enormous in boosting their financial position moving forward. Chelsea have been left to use accounting tricks including selling the women's team and hotel buildings to themselves in order to bypass Premier League regulations after transfer spending continued to rise.

With UEFA's loophole closed, hence the fine earlier this week,Chelsea need to raise their revenue as much as possible and the prize money from this tournament is lucrative. It does not match the Champions League in overall funds but for a possible seven games, the cash driving is massive.

“They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money," Maresca said last month when asked about the owners' demands. "They just want to try to win for everyone, for them, for the club, for the fans, for the players, for me, for everyone. It's not just about the money.

“When you are Chelsea manager or a Chelsea player, any game you don't win you are a headline. It's not about tomorrow, we are used to that. Tomorrow is a game that we need to do the right things to go through the next stage and we're going to try our best.”

That is very much how the players have reacted to it. Some supporters still will not care but football is ultimately about winning trophies. If this money helps to bring in new and better players to improve the squad then there is another positive.

Looking into the future, with Chelsea only just set to enter back into the Champions League, they will probably need to win the Club World Cup to get into it again for 2029. FIFA would like to expand it again to 48 teams, which could offer them a way in.

The way to be certain is to lift the trophy. That is a staple way of qualification in football. The Champions League winners qualify no matter what their domestic position says.

It has not yet been confirmed, just like the host, but in an expanded 32 or 48 team tournament, there is more room to admit the winners again as opposed to the yearly version of the tournament which only included the continent cup champions. For Chelsea, who would otherwise need to need to get into the top eight of UEFA's coefficient - which is a relatively high bar - they could be just two games away.

Winning the inaugural edition of this Club World Cup would be significant on multiple levels. Locking themselves in for a potential shot at another huge payday would simply be yet another offshoot to take advantage of.