Chelsea will face Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Club World Cup in New York on Sunday, but the Blues are already concerned about their workload ahead of the Premier League season
Premier League bosses are refusing to shift Chelsea’s opening fixture – even after the Blues reached the Club World Cup final.
Chelsea are scheduled to face Crystal Palace on Sunday, August 17, which comes just 34 days after the Blues play against Paris Saint-Germain in the final in New York’s MetLife Stadium this Sunday.
That leaves Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca’s plans in tatters, as they will have just over a month for both a holiday for the players and then straight into pre-season training ahead of the kick-off.
It will put immense pressure on Chelsea’s squad and also leave them facing potential exhaustion after their impressive run to the Club World Cup final.
Chelsea stand to win £97million in prize money if they can win the trophy, but the downside is the daunting schedule for the players and the club.
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The Blues are understood to have asked for help from the Premier League, but their chief football officer Tony Scholes insisted that there could be no special favours for either Chelsea or Manchester City following their participation in the States.
That has been reiterated by the Premier League as Chelsea are in the Club World Cup right until the end. The Premier League feel it is an example of the challenges faces by domestic leagues after FIFA expanded their calendar.
But they feel that FIFA should have considered this aspect before putting another major club competition into the football calendar. Chelsea viewed the 2024/25 season and 2025/26 as a “rolled into one” campaign because of the overlap but that will not ease the pressure on Maresca’s squad.
City boss pep Guardiola admitted during the tournament that it could be a “disaster” for their forthcoming season. They ended up going home on June 30 after losing to Al-Hilal so will get an extra two weeks on Chelsea.
But Guardiola said: “I try not to think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious. Maybe in November, December, January, ask me, Pep. I may say: ‘So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us.’ We will see.”
Speaking back in May, ahead of the Club World Cup, Maresca admitted he would have to be careful with managing the burden placed on his players. “For sure, there is a chance we have players who because of the amount of games they can get injured or be tired. Then we see how we need to be,” he said.
“Is it an added challenge for the players to think they have to play so many games? For me, it’s not normal and it is not correct. I can understand people thinking ‘yeah but they earn (so) much money, that it’s not a problem’ but it’s about health, protecting players.”
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