‘The Club World Cup felt like pre-season, but we had to tell ourselves it wasn’t. It was a big tournament and we were there to win it, not play around’ Chelsea star’s honest reflection on last summer’s triumph in the United States

Chelsea were the first club to win the revamped Club World Cup last summer, with a 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain.

It was a tournament that had its quirks, from dramatic dynamic pricing to President Trump lifting the trophy with a puzzled Reece James.

At times, it felt a little odd from an outside perspective, and it turns out the feeling in the competition wasn’t much different.

Robert Sanchez on the ups and downs of the Club World Cup

The Blues played LAFC, Flamengo, ES Tunis, Benfica, Palmeiras, Fluminense and PSG to lift the title, many being teams they would never ordinarily face in a competitive match.

With a total prize pot of $1billion on the line though, they needed to quickly click into gear.

“At the beginning, the Club World Cup was a bit weird,” goalkeeper Robert Sanchez admitted to FourFourTwo.

“Going to the USA right in the middle of summer, it was very hot,” he continued. “At the beginning, it felt like pre-season, but as a team, we had to say to ourselves that it wasn’t pre-season, it was a big tournament, and that we needed to get going and be focused, because we were there to win it, not play around.”

That’s exactly what they did, but the Spanish gloveman notes more than initial motivation as a hurdle.

“It was difficult because of the state of the pitches, and it was absolutely roasting, but we got through it. The further into the competition we got, the more exciting the games were,” Sanchez said.

It was certainly different to many other major tournaments a European star like Sanchez has experienced, but there were plenty of positives to take from the trip.

“It was cool to see [NFL stadiums], an experience the different places,” he said. “To put the cherry on top, we ended up winning it, and I got the Golden Glove.

“One day, a couple of the other boys and I decided to get some e-bikes, and we went out riding for the whole day – New York, New Jersey, Manhattan, we went on the bikes all the way around and experienced everything.

“It was incredible, the places we saw, having lunch, different shops, brilliant. One of the best moments and experiences that I’ve had in football – and not just because we went and won the whole thing.”