What do Chelsea, Dortmund and Barcelona have in common?

There are three large clubs in club football that have enormous decisions to make this summer that will determine their future success or failure.

For clubs that have storied histories, full trophy cases, and a definitive ethos, decision making under rapidly changing circumstances can be challenging. These clubs also have massive fan bases and social media followings that will swing their opinion with every move.

With every move, a team makes significant cash is always involved. However, even rich clubs need to look at their account balances now and again.

If 2020 were a Star Wars character in the world of football, it would be Senator Palpatine. If this year were a character from The Wire, it would be Marlo Stanfield.

You can take your pick, but the result is the same: brutal and ruthless.

For every club, even the richest and most powerful ones in England, Spain, and Germany, the loss of revenue from lost matches had hit them as hard as a Mike Tyson punch before he took a bite off someone’s ear.

The hardships caused by the economic impact of the pandemic have exacerbated the consequences of past decisions for Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona in different ways.

These large storied clubs are now faced with decisions that will set the course of their futures.