The nature of competitiveness is such that someone is always going to want to know who it the best at something. There was a competition help in 1887 known as the Football World Championship, which saw FA Cup winners Aston Villa play Scottish Cup winners Hibernian, but over the years more and more European competitions were created. As a result, the Club World Cup was founded in 2000, pitching the winners of the AFC Champions League, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions League, CONMEBOL Libertadores, OFC Champions League and UEFA Champions League against one another.
The idea is that it will help decide which is the best team on the planet each year. South American teams tend to take it much more seriously than English ones; unless, of course, the English side wins it. Chelsea first played in it on the back of their Champions League win, losing to Brazilian side Corinthians. They eventually won it in 2021, when the match was played in the United Arab Emirates and the club faced another Brazilian side in the form of Palmeiras. Romelu Lukaku gave the Londoners the league before Veiga equalised, with Chelsea winning 2-1 after extra-time.
| Season | Chelsea Result | Winner | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | Winner | Chelsea | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2021-2022 | Winners | Chelsea | Palmeiras |
| 2012-2013 | Runners-Up | Corinthians | Chelsea |
Chelsea Club World Cup Wins
2024-2025: Chelsea 3-0 Paris Saint-Germain
The first edition of the newly expanded Club World Cup took place in 2025 in the USA with Chelsea amongst the 32 teams competing. The Blues began with a 2-0 group stage win against Los Angeles FC. A 3-1 defeat to Brazilian side Flamengo followed but they progressed to the knockout stages thanks to a 3-0 victory over Espérance Sportive de Tunis.
In the round of 16, Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 after extra time before dispatching Palmeiras 2-1 in the quarter-finals and Fluminense 2-0 in the semi-finals. Chelsea faced Champions League winners PSG who were favourites to lift the trophy having beaten Inter Miami, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on the way to the final. Two first half goals from Cole Palmer and a third from newly signed João Pedro led to a comfortable 3-0 victory, with US President handing the trophy to captain Reece James at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
2021-2022: Chelsea 2–1 (a.e.t.) Palmeiras
Having beaten Manchester City in the Champions League final, Chelsea secured their place in the FIFA Club World Cup as the European representatives. The 2021 edition was the 18th time that the FIFA-organised competition between the winners of the six continental confederation's tournaments had taken place.
For Chelsea, it was the club's second appearance in it, with the Blues having been beaten by Corinthians in the 2012 final. This time, though, the London club defeated Al-Hilal, the 2021 AFC Champions League winners, in order to set up a final against Palmeiras, who were in the competition thanks to their win in the 2021 Copa Libertadores.
The final was a close affair, with Chelsea taking the lead through Romelu Lukaku before Raphael Veiga made it 1-1 from the penalty spot. That meant that the game went to extra-time, with Kai Havertz, who had scored the goal to win the Champions League in the first place, stepping up to score the winner when Chelsea were awarded a 117th minute penalty.
Chelsea Club World Cup Runners-Up Seasons
2012-2013: Corinthians 1-0 Chelsea
The Club World Cup in 2012 was the ninth edition of FIFA's competition, which Chelsea qualified for after the club had defeated Bayern Munich in the Champions League final at the end of the 2011-2012 season. Hosted in Japan, Chelsea entered the tournament at the semi-final final stage and played Monterrey.
They were the CONCACAF representatives, with Auckland City there as the winners of the OFC Champions League, whilst Sanfrecce Hiroshima had won the J. League Division 1. It was Sanfrecce Hiroshima who made it through to the quarter-finals, losing to the CAF Champions League winners Al-Ahly.
Monterrey had defeated AFC Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai to make the semi-final, which Chelsea won 3-1, earning the right to play Copa Libertadores champions Corinthians. It was the Brazilian side that emerged as the winners, thanks to a 69th minute goal from Paolo Guerrero that Chelsea had no response to.