Maresca: Chelsea not under pressure due to Club World Cup prize money

Enzo Maresca insisted the Chelsea hierarchy are not adding pressure onto the team at the Club World Cup because of the prize money.

There is a reported $1b in prize money for the revamped club competition, with the victors set to win around $125m (£92.4m).

Chelsea face Esperance Tunis in their final match in Group D, with a point enough for them to qualify for the last 16. Their counterparts will need to win to progress to the next stage.

This meeting between the two clubs will be the first time that either side has faced opposition from the other's continent.

If the Blues manage to avoid defeat against the Tunisian side, they could face Bayern Munich in the first knockout round. Chelsea can no longer finish first in Group D after their 3-1 loss to Flamengo.

That defeat to Flamengo marked the first defeat by an English team in the Club World Cup (including previous formats) since Chelsea themselves lost 1-0 to Corinthians in 2012. Prior to that, English sides had won eight straight Club World Cup matches.

But, Maresca says he does not feel any additional pressure from the board ahead of their last game in the group stage.

"The owners just want the best for us and for the players game by game, and they are not talking about the final prize or the final reward in terms of money," said Maresca.

"They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money.

"If we go through, we can talk about Bayern. In this moment, it has to be about [Tuesday]. Football is full of surprises.

"Against Flamengo, they were in the game until the end. Against Los Angeles, they won and did a good game. So, for sure, it is going to be a tough game."

Chelsea have been training in Philadelphia ahead of their next match, and the weather has not helped Maresca's side.

Temperatures reached 37 degrees Celsius on the day before their game, which the Italian called "impossible" conditions to work in.

Maresca added: "[Monday morning's] session has been very, very, very short.

"It's been just about [Tuesday's] game, planning [for it], and that's it. No more than that.

"As you can see, it's not easy in these conditions with these temperatures. We are going to try to do our best.

"It's difficult to work with these temperatures, but we are here and we trying to do our best, and we will try to win."