Trump puzzles Chelsea FC as he crashes Club World Cup trophy party

Euronews

11 hours ago

Chelsea FC put in a spectacular performance to beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final of the new Club World Cup on Sunday, but the subsequent award ceremony was suddenly attended by an unexpected guest: US President Donald Trump.
Cole Palmer was visibly elated as he bounced behind Reece James, the Chelsea captain, who was receiving the Club World Cup trophy — when they were flanked unexpectedly by US President Donald Trump, who stood between Palmer and goalkeeper Robert Sánchez.
"I knew he was going to be here, but I didn't know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy, so I was a bit confused," Palmer told reporters.
James was equally confused by the US president's apparent desire to join in on the celebrations.
"They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage, and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay," James told domestic media.
"He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment."
Trump, wearing a bright red tie, appeared to leave the podium with a medal himself, presented by FIFA President Gianni Infantino shortly after Reece James was honoured.
Palmer lauded as 'scary good'
Palmer, 23, was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player after netting the opening two goals in Chelsea's triumph.
The English midfielder has been thrust into the spotlight recently. Over the weekend, he was photographed in front of a giant Nike billboard in Times Square, emblazoned with his image and the slogan: 'Scary good' — part of a campaign also featuring Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Vinícius Júnior.
'I've seen the billboards in Times Square and outside of Madison Square Garden,' Palmer said. 'It's a nice feeling to be obviously alongside them type of players.'
Palmer's first-half brace featured two nearly identical left-footed finishes from just inside the penalty area in the 22nd and 30th minutes. He also set up João Pedro for Chelsea's third goal in the 43rd minute with a precise through ball, which was deftly chipped over Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said his side seized control early. 'I think we won the game in the first 10 minutes,' he said. 'The message before the game was: let them understand that we are here to win.'
Palmer's first goal came after a long kick from Sánchez was misjudged by PSG's Nuno Mendes, whose header backwards allowed the ball to fall to Malo Gusto. Gusto's shot was blocked and rebounded to Palmer, ending PSG's run of 436 minutes without conceding.
'These are the games where we expect Cole to appear because they are big games, big moments,' Maresca added.
Palmer's second came after latching onto Levi Colwill's long pass, cutting inside and finishing clinically for his 18th goal of the season.
'It's a great feeling,' Palmer said. 'Even better because obviously everyone doubted us before the game. The gaffer put a great gameplan out, and obviously, he knew where the space was going to be.'