On Tuesday Cole Palmer warned his Chelsea team-mates that ‘anything can happen in a final’ and ‘it doesn’t matter who you play or where it is.’

But with such an enormous financial gulf between them and Real Betis, the odds are firmly stacked in Chelsea’s favour as they look to become the first ever side to win all four major European club competitions. 

Victory would also finally spell a first trophy under Todd Boehly after a £1.2billion transfer outlay since he took charge three years ago.

They will have do it one more time on Wednesday, though, when they take on a side of misfits carved together by Manuel Pellgrini – and costing just £84.5million

Chelsea’s squad has costed a staggering £1.39bn to assemble – the most expensive side ever, according to UEFA. 

On Tuesday Cole Palmer warned his Chelsea team-mates that ‘anything can happen in a final’ 

Chelsea’s midfield pairing of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo cost a combined £222.8m

Manchester United loanee Antony has been on electric form since joining Real Betis in January

While Chelsea’s last match against Nottingham Forest featured a £222.8m midfield pairing of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, Betis’ entire starting 11 against Valencia on Friday cost just £28.2m. 

Under Boehly, Chelsea have spent £115m on Caicedo, £107.8m on Fernandez, £70m on Wesley Fofana and £88m on Mykhailo Mudryk.

They have also paid more than £50m for Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku and Pedro Neto. 

Meanwhile Betis have spent just £34.3m on 12 players, including two on loan, in the past two windows. 

Their largest outlay on a current player is £15.5m on William Carvalho. 

The Seville-based side have an an annual payroll of £44,482,477, with an average weekly salary of £35,642, according to Capology.

Chelsea, who pay Reece James £250,000 a week and Wesley Fofana £200,000, spend £169,925,600 yearly, with players earning £68,079-a-week on average. 

And while they have dropped billions on 41 players across six windows under Boehly, their Spanish opposition are spearheaded by Manchester United loanee Antony, who Betis would need to ‘crowdfund’ to keep for another year,  team-mate Isco said.

Fornals, another Premier League export, cost a mere £6.8m after leaving West Ham last season

Pellegrini has been in charge of the Spanish side for five years and won the Copa Del Rey

Chelsea fans have held protests against owner Todd Boehly at Stamford Bridge this season 

Antony’s form since joining Betis has been so impressive that club legend Joaquin even joked they would need to ‘kidnap’ the Brazilian to keep him at Estadio Benito Villamarin next season.

The 25-year-old, who has scored four times and provided three assists in the Conference League since January, is far from the first star to see his career rejuvenated in the five years Pellegrini has been at the Andalusian oufit. 

Former Real Madrid midfielder Isco described Betis as ‘my light in the darkness’ having joined after six months without a club, while Giovani Lo Celso has also bounced back after struggling at Tottenham – having been signed for just £8.4m

Pablo Fornals, another Premier League export, cost a mere £6.8m after leaving West Ham last season.

Pellegrini, who joined after a single season at West Ham, won the Copa Del Rey in 2023 – Betis’ first trophy in seventeen years. 

This season they beat local rivals Sevilla for the first time in seven years and they are closing in on a maiden European title. 

But they haven’t broken the bank under the Chilean.

In December 2023, Pellegrini urged the club to step up their spending.

At Real Betis, supporters own around 55 per cent of the club alongside two local businessmen

Chelsea beat Swedish side Djurgardens 5-1 on aggregate in the Conference League semi-finals

The Europa Conference League would be the first trophy Chelsea have won under Todd Boehly

‘The next step for this Betis depends on the club’s financial situation. We were barely able to sign in recent years,’ he said.

‘When there is stability there may be a more competitive squad. But this team has no ceiling, we compete against anyone and we have won a Copa de Rey. What has been done in these four years is something to take your hat off to.’

Betis’ finances have improved in recent years. They took out a £105m loan from American investment bank Goldman Sachs last year as they seek to improve their stadium, including adding a roof.

But they are still bound by strict LaLiga salary rules.

Remarkably, their record transfer fee is still the £21.5m they paid for Denilson in 1998 – at the time a world record. 

Twenty-seven years on the most they have spent on a player in their current squad is on Carvalho.

The ownership styles between the two clubs could not be more different. 

Increasing frustration with the direction of Chelsea has led hundreds of fans to stage furious protests against Boehly and Clearlake Capital outside Stamford Bridge this season.

Chelsea take on Real Betis in Wroclaw on Wednesday in the Europa Conference League final

Enzo Maresca earned Chelsea a place in next season’s Champions League in his first season 

Isco described Betis as ‘my light in the darkness’ having joined after six months without a club

The American simply dismissed criticism as ‘par for the course’. 

At Betis, supporters own around 55 per cent of the club alongside the local businessmen Angel Haro Garcia and Jose Miguel Lopez Catalan.

The two sides have faced each other four times before, with Betis winning the last encounter 1-0 in a Champions League group game against a Mourinho Chelsea side featuring Petr Cech, Frank Lampard and John Terry in November 2005.

Chelsea can rest assured they will return to Europe’s top competition next season and a first trophy in four years could at last see the billion pound boys start to repay their hefty fees.