Why is Joao Pedro eligible to play for Chelsea at the Club World Cup? Transfer rules explained

Chelsea continued their summer shopping spree with the acquisition of former Brighton attacker Joao Pedro, who was officially confirmed as a member of the London side on Wednesday.

The Brazilian could jump straight into the fire with his new team as they have a FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Palmeiras on Thursday night in Philadelphia, just over 48 hours after his £55 million transfer from the Seagulls was completed.

But how can Joao Pedro play in a tournament that has already started? DAZN News explains.

Why is Joao Pedro eligible to play for Chelsea at the Club World Cup?

The summertime Club World Cup is a new concept that tests the established transfer norms as it takes place at a time when players are often changing employers, either due to expiring contracts or for fees that can sometimes reach eight or even nine figures.

To mitigate the awkwardness of some players having their contracts run out at the Club World Cup, FIFA created a special extra transfer window for the period immediately leading up to the tournament. The officially titled "exceptional registration window" also allowed Club World Cup sides to bolster their squads with incoming transfers from other clubs.

This is how Chelsea added four new players — most notably Liam Delap and Mamadou Sarr — between the end of the European season and the start of the Club World Cup, while other teams also took advantage of the June 1-10 window to sign the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich) and more.

However, Joao Pedro only completed his transfer on July 2, meaning it came after the "exceptional" window and during the regular summer transfer period.

So why is he allowed to suit up for his new side even though the tournament is already well under way? Simply put, timing is everything.  

Chelsea made sure to complete the transfer between June 27 to July 3 and register the 23-year-old immediately after the proverbial ink on the contracts dried, and FIFA's regulations for the tournament allows all participating teams to add to their squad between the end of the group stage and before the quarter-finals kick off.

That means Joao Pedro should be able to suit up for the Blues against Palmeiras. 

However, should the widely reported Chelsea interest in Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens also come to fruition, he would not be eligible for Chelsea during the tournament since he has already suited up for the German side at the Club World Cup.

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