Chelsea ‘desperate’ to clinch Club World Cup success for the first time

Mateo Kovacic has insisted Chelsea are just as motivated to become club world champions as Brazilian opponents Palmeiras this weekend.

Croatia midfielder Kovacic has already tasted Club World Cup success twice, with Real Madrid in 2016 and 2017.

And now the 27-year-old is desperate to make it a hat-trick of world titles with Chelsea on Saturday.

Traditional wisdom dictates that South American teams treat the Club World Cup far more seriously than their European counterparts – but Kovacic stressed that is not the case.

“We know what it takes to come to such a big tournament because you need to win the Champions League, so we need to appreciate this moment and not take it for granted,” said Kovacic, who was man of the match in Chelsea’s slender 1-0 semi-final win over Al Hilal on Wednesday night.

“To reach a Club World Cup final is very difficult and we are there on Saturday.

“We are desperate to win this trophy. We could be the first team in Chelsea history to bring this trophy to London so we are happy that we are in such a big final and we will do everything to win it on Saturday.”

Big performance!