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Add as preferred source on Google<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nBlueCo\u2019s decision to take the Chelsea squad on a taxing long-haul pre-season tour after the World Cup is simply a money-making exercise, says Kieran Maguire.<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking exclusively to The Chelsea Chronicle<\/em><\/strong>the University of Liverpool football finance lecturer reacted to Chelsea\u2019s announcement that they will travel to the Asia-Pacific in July through to August.<\/p>\n On 28 July, Chelsea take on Western Sydney Wanderers at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia, before a friendly against Tottenham at the same stadium three days later. Then, the squad will fly to Hong Kong where, Juventus await at the Kai Tak Stadium on 5 August, before finalising the tour against AC Milan at GBK Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia on 8 August.<\/p>\n The World Cup final is being played 10,000 miles away in New Jersey, New York eight days before the first friendly. With Chelsea representatives likely to be in England, France, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and Spain\u2019s squads at the World Cup, it is likely that some players will have only a little over a week\u2019s rest.<\/p>\n How concerned about fatigue are you going into 2026-27?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Chelsea are far from alone in placing extreme physical and mental demands on their players over the course of a season, but their triumph in the Club World Cup last summer means that some members of their squad have barely stopped playing for a full year.<\/p>\n Todd Boehly, co-owner and chairman at Stamford Bridge, has previously talked about reducing the size of the football calendar in order to reduce fatigue and preventable injuries \u2013 and, by extension, reducing Chelsea\u2019s wage bill, which stood at \u00a3359m at the last count.<\/p>\n However, as Maguire, explains these lucrative overseas tours would certainly not be the first on the chopping block if the private equity billionaire was to get his way and trim the fixture list.<\/p>\n These days, all of the so-called \u2018Big Six\u2019 clubs can expect revenues of \u00a310m-plus from pre-season tours in lucrative commercial markets like the US or Asia-Pacific.<\/p>\n Not all of that eight-figure sum is profit, mind. There are significant costs associated with transporting probably 100 employees across the world, putting them up in luxury hotels, hiring training facilities, and organising umpteen commercial opportunities, meet-and-greets, sponsorship activations and so on.<\/p>\n However, pre-season tours are often as much about flying the Chelsea flag in these markets as they are about cold, hard cash. Ask any commercial director \u2013 it\u2019s about nurturing existing fans, creating new ones, and making supporters in a different hemisphere more likely to engage with the club financially.<\/p>\n Last season, Chelsea\u2019s commercial income was \u00a3200m, down from \u00a3225m in 2023-24. And with a prohibitive UEFA settlement for breaching spending rules hanging over BlueCo, they feel they need to monetise the club to the nth degree.<\/p>\n That said, given that every place in the Premier League is worth \u00a33m while the price of failing to qualify for the Champions League could be up to \u00a3200m, are these glitzy tours worth the risk of overloading players?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a little bit surprised by Chelsea\u2019s decision to go to Australia and Asia, because the window of opportunity for pre-season following the World Cup is very, very short,\u201d<\/em> Maguire told The Chelsea Chronicle<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cI imagine some of the players participating in the World Cup won\u2019t go on this tour because they have to be given some time off. Last year, they finished the domestic season and went straight into the Club World Cup. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPlayer fatigue and consequent injuries is one of the reasons for their poor form this season. They don\u2019t seem to have learned the lesson that it\u2019s good for players to have downtime and space to decompress.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut I think the long-haul pre-season tour is further evidence that Clearlake don\u2019t have much concern for player welfare. They see players as short-term inventory. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat model hasn\u2019t proven itself yet, and this appears to be a rinse-and-repeat strategy which could potentially come back to bite Chelsea. It\u2019s a pure cash grab.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\nChelsea travel to Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia for pre-season this summer<\/h3>\n
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<\/div>How much money Chelsea could make from pre-season in Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia<\/h2>\n
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