Maresca believes Club World Cup can rival Champions League prestige | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca believes the FIFA Club World Cup can rival the Champions League for prestige after Chelsea won the first edition of the relaunched competition.

Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in New Jersey on Sunday evening to be crowned world champions for the second time. The West Londoners started the final as underdogs, but produced a fine performance to upset the Champions League winners.

Cole Palmer scored two brilliant first-half goals, before teeing up summer signing Joao Pedro to lift a third over Gianluigi Donnarumma before half-time.

This summer’s tournament was the first to feature a 32-team format, as FIFA look to create a club competition that can rival UEFA’s Champions League.

Maresca believes the Club World Cup can become ‘even more important than the Champions League’ and outlined his pride at his side’s success this summer.

“To be honest I told my players I have the feeling this competition could become just as important or even more important than the Champions League,” he told the club’s official website.

“A few years ago I was lucky enough to be part of a tactical staff which won the Champions League (at Manchester City) and I enjoyed every minute of it. I think that this competition uniting all the best clubs in the world will become more important.

“We value it just as much as winning the Champions League because we can give this championship to the Chelsea fans and it will be a source of pride to wear the winner’s badge.

“I think that during the season we were heading in the right direction and we ended the season very well and now we’ve lifted this fantastic trophy.”

Read – Maresca ecstatic as Chelsea beat ‘best in the world’ PSG

See more – Palmer ‘confused’ by Trump gatecrash of Chelsea celebrations

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