CHELSEA landed a plum draw in the inaugural Fifa Club World Cup – including a reunion with a club cult hero.
The revamped tournament will now be contested with a similar format to the World Cup – staged next year in America from June 15-July 13 and featuring 32 of the globe’s top teams.
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It all kicked off with a glitzy group-stage draw from Miami, featuring a host of global football legends, and presented, in part, by Italian beauty, and former Premier League Wag, Diletta Leotta.
Each country is limited to two entrants in the tournament, with the Blues and Manchester City taking England’s slots as the two most recent Champions League winners.
Chelsea wound up in Group D, along with Brazil’s Flamengo, Club Leon of Mexico and Esperance de Tunis from Tunisia.
And that likely means a shock clash against for Blues title winner David Luiz, who is still playing for the Brazilians at the age of 37.
City meanwhile face Italian giants Juventus, Morocco’s Wydad AC and Al Ain of the UAE.
Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid will play Saudi champions Al Hilal, RB Salzburg of Austria and Mexico’s Pachuca.
Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich take on Benfica, Boca Juniors and Aukland City in Group C.
Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger was on hand to help pick out the teams but only after being made to perform some awkward dad dancing.
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US President-elect Donald Trump’s eight-year-old grandson Theo also helped pick out the draw with the politician’s daughter Ivanka.
There was even a message from President Trump – who referred to Fifa president Gianni Infantino as “Jonny”.
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Trump said: “The event is going to be incredible. I will try and be there if I can, I would, we’ll see what happens.
“But I just want to say you’re led by a man named Jonny, I just know him as Jonny and he’s a winner and he’s the president and I’m the president.
“We’ve known each other a long time and I’m so honoured to have this kind of relationship because Soccer is going through the roof as everybody knows.
“It’s been doing so fantastically well, my son Baron is a tremendous soccer fan, he’s actually a good player – I guess not quite that kind of good but he’s a very good player.
“But he loves soccer and it really is taking over the United States in terms of a sport and I congratulate everybody.
“But in particular I wish you too have a good time and I want to send my highest regards and respect to Johnny.
“It’s been an honour to be with you and will be with you very soon and we’re going to watch the World Cup very importantly also very soon.
“I was very responsible along with Johnny in getting it and it’s going to be a fantastic thing.”
The new Club World Cup format sees teams divided into eight groups of four and play each other once.
Top two teams in each group then progress to the knockout stage.
The last 16 is the first single knockout round – followed by the quarter-final, semi-final and then final.
Details on how fans can watch the Club World Cup emerged earlier this week, with DAZN snapping up the rights.
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