
‘He's one of us already' – Chelsea fans in awe of Joao Pedro for what he did to PSG rival in Club World Cup final
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CHELSEA fans have already fallen in love with Joao Pedro - and not just for his goals.
The £55million newboy has three goals in three games for Chelsea and helped fire them to their Club World Cup triumph.
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Cole Palmer was involved in an altercation with Fabian Ruiz with Joao Pedro stepping in
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Pedro and Ruiz then had their own coming together
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Pedro stared down the midfielder and did not help him up
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The striker was involved in a full-time tussle with PSG boss Luis Enrique raising his hands
Credit: Reuters
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Pedro fell to the ground as a result of the melee
Credit: AP
He scored two stunning goals in the semi-final and netted the third in a 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.
But he has also shown a fiery side and has not been afraid to back up his team-mates.
Pedro, who was hit in the face after the final whistle by PSG boss Luis Enrique, also had a confrontation during the match.
He rushed over to assist Cole Palmer after he was involved in a coming together with Fabian Ruiz.
READ MORE ON CHELSEA
OW PEDRO Club World Cup final ends in brawl as Luis Enrique SLAPS Joao Pedro
Palmer wound up his opponent with a spectacular phase of play that saw him fall to the ground before getting up and taking the ball past Ruiz.
He then sprinted to the byline and with nowhere to go he stopped the ball dead before backheeling it through the humiliated midfielder's legs.
Ruiz reacted by shoving Palmer but the England star reacted in kind, before Pedro rushed over to help him out.
Moments later Pedro then used his physicality to shove Ruiz to the floor and then stared him down, and Chelsea fans loved it.
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One reacted saying: "Joao Pedro saw the afters between Palmer and Ruiz and decided to make sure he knew Cole wasn't riding solo out here. My man is down for the scrap. He's one of us already."
Another added: "Joao Pedro and Cole are rage baiting Fabian Ruiz 🤣🤣"
Hilarious moment Trump gets caught inside Chelsea's trophy celebrations as Cole Palmer dances next to beaming Don
And a third wrote: "Fabian Ruiz is getting toyed with 😂😂😂 Pedro and Palmer have him crying."

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Times
29 minutes ago
- Times
Trump booed as Chelsea players raise Fifa Club World Cup trophy
President Trump left Chelsea players bemused by refusing to leave the stage as they lifted the Club World Cup trophy in New Jersey on Sunday. Trump was booed and cheered in the MetLife Stadium as he spent the afternoon next to his wife Melania, the first lady, and Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president. He saluted and sang along to The Star-Spangled Banner, America's national anthem, a year to the day since he survived an attempted assassination at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final of a tournament that has drawn almost 2.5 million fans over the last three weeks, making it one of the best-attended sporting events in American history. A delighted Trump later joined the Chelsea players as they raised the trophy. He beamed as the jubilant footballers, including the England stars Reece James and Cole Palmer, celebrated around him, perhaps previewing what the victorious team at the World Cup can expect. While football is the world's most popular sport, in the US, 'soccer' has long been overshadowed by American football, baseball, hockey and basketball. Yet Trump has embraced football and often speaks of his excitement about next year's World Cup, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico. The Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028. During speeches this year, he has said that losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden worked out for the best because it allowed him to be president while two major sporting events arrived in America. 'Can you imagine? I missed that four years, and now look what I have. I have everything,' he said in May. Trump enjoys attending sporting events and uses them to project the image of a beloved statesman. He is a regular guest at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, where he soaks up the adulation of the crowd while slowly making his way to his ringside seat. In June last year, days after a guilty verdict in a hush money criminal trial, Trump received a standing ovation at a UFC fight in New Jersey, suggesting his legal problems would have a limited impact on the presidential election. He defeated Kamala Harris in November. In February, Trump became the first sitting US president to attend the Super Bowl, held in New Orleans. Trump has also attended the Daytona 500 race in Florida and the National Collegiate Athletic Association wrestling championships in Philadelphia this year. However, he has shown a particular interest in the World Cup. Trump worked hard to secure the World Cup during his first term in 2018 and has a replica of the golden trophy in the Oval Office. Alexi Lalas, a former US defender who played in the 1994 World Cup in America, previously told The Times that Trump 'is the most pro-soccer president that we have ever had'. 'From a cultural, legacy and political perspective, he understands the power of what is coming next summer,' he said. Trump is expected to attend the opening game at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City next June, and will surely be at the MetLife for the final in July to hand over the trophy to the winning team. Alan Rothenberg, who led the organising committee for the 1994 World Cup, which was held solely in the United States, expects the president to be 'front and centre' of next year's tournament, and said that he may 'want to kick out the ceremonial first ball'. He said: 'There's one thing nobody would dispute. Trump enjoys the attention.' As well as the World Cup, 2026 is the 250th anniversary of America's founding, another event Trump is delighted to be presiding over. Trump has promised a UFC championship fight in the grounds of the White House to celebrate the milestone.


Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
FIFA rule broken in Club World Cup final as Donald Trump gatecrashes Chelsea's trophy lift and tensions boil over after the final whistle
FIFA were willing to break one of their Laws of the Game to accommodate the excesses of the Club World Cup final on Sunday night. An intriguing spectacle and surprise 3-0 result in Chelsea 's favour against Paris Saint-Germain was overshadowed by events off the pitch. Chief among them was the scene-stealing display of United States President Donald Trump, who insisted on taking centre stage for the Blues' trophy lift. But earlier, the Super Bowl-style half-time show attracted attention for all the wrong reasons and necessitated the flouting of one of the game's laws. At MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, reggaeton artist J Balvin, rapper Doja Cat, Tems and Emmanuel Kelly performed to the crowd. They were joined on stage by Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, who made a surprise guest appearance for the show. The only problem - apart from claims of 'utter woke nonsense' by fans - was the duration of the set. At a whopping 24 minutes, the showcase far exceeded the seventh statute in the Laws of the Game. Law 7 of the IFAB's (International Football Association Board) states that 'players are entitled to an interval at half-time, not exceeding 15 minutes'. It adds: 'A short drinks break (which should not exceed one minute) is permitted at the interval of half-time in extra time. Competition rules must state the duration of the half-time interval and it may be altered only with the referee's permission.' Reacting to the show on social media, many football were bemused by the spectacle. One wrote: 'Having a halftime show during this Club World Cup final feels so weird'. Another user wrote: 'Too many music shows in this Club World Cup'. The other notable event during the evening came after the final whistle when tensions boiled over and PSG boss Enrique appeared to strike Chelsea striker Joao Pedro in the face during a heated post-match clash between both teams. Pedro was initially embroiled in a confrontation with Gianluigi Donnarumma and Achraf Hakimi - with Andrey Santos also on the scene - before Enrique marched over towards the situation. But rather than defusing the situation, the Spanish manager made it physical, laying his hands on Pedro before being held back by his own player Presnel Kimpembe. Pedro fell to the floor in dramatic fashion, clutching at his face. Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia stepped in to defend their team-mate, holding back a visibly frustrated Gianluigi Donnarumma, who appeared to berate Pedro for his animated reaction. What followed was pandemonium, with around five Chelsea players swarming Donnarumma in the aftermath. The PSG goalkeeper was shoved by Tosin Adarabioyo, as Kimpembe continued his attempts to defuse tensions alongside Chelsea's Filip Jorgensen. Pedro eventually got back to his feet, only to find himself at the centre of a chaotic melee involving too many bodies to count. On the touchline, a furious Enzo Maresca stormed in to drag his players away, shouting at those involved as he tried to restore order.


The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump's presence at Chelsea's trophy lift was a fitting coda to a misguided tournament
For the first four weeks of the 2025 Club World Cup, there had been the danger that the tournament would soon be largely forgotten. There is no danger of that after the final. There had been unease after the 2022 World Cup final at the way Qatar inserted itself into the trophy presentation by draping a bisht over Lionel Messi, but at least the Emir kept his distance. Donald Trump, by contrast, placed himself front and centre of the celebrations – and he was soon joined by the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, who has a pathological fear of missing out, and must follow his great ally in all things. And so we were presented with a grimly perfect image of this misguided tournament, a celebrating football team struggling to be seen from behind the politicians who took centre stage. The confusion of Cole Palmer and Reece James at Trump's continued presence was clear. History, and not just football history, will not forget such shameless grandstanding, or Fifa's complicity in allowing football to be hijacked by a national leader. It was a day the ramifications of which will be sifted for years. As a footballing spectacle, it was remarkable, a game in which Palmer produced a performance to elevate him to global stardom, in which Robert Sánchez did much to quiet his many critics, in which Enzo Maresca announced himself as a tactician of the highest rank. There had been plenty of intrigue earlier in the tournament – Al-Hilal's last-16 victory over Manchester City and Real Madrid's capitulation in the semi-final perhaps most notably – but they had always been undercut by doubts as to how seriously each side was taking it. But PSG's determination to add the world title to the Champions League crown they won in May was obvious and, in the final, they were outplayed to a startling degree. Luis Enrique's side had essentially been untouchable since the turn of the year, not just winning games but looking sharper than opponents, on another tactical level. They had outclassed Madrid in the semi-final to the extent that the game was done within 20 minutes. Yet the final was lost by half-time as their left flank was repeatedly over-run. Khvicha Khvaratskelia, whose defensive work is usually so striking, didn't make a single tackle or interception (PSG's front three as a whole managed just one regain between them) and Fabián Ruiz was bypassed so that Nuno Mendes, who for a year has seemed obviously the best left-back in the world, was repeatedly exposed, sometimes to Malo Gusto but sometimes, more dangerously, to Palmer. Palmer produced one of the great final performances, scoring the first with a great finish, the second with a great finish after a dummied pass of almost comical effectiveness and then setting up the third with a barrelling run and perfectly calibrated pass for João Pedro. Perhaps PSG were disadvantaged by having played in the second semi-final; perhaps in the extreme heat an extra 24 hours of rest makes a huge difference. Still, it's been a long time since anybody has taken Luis Enrique's PSG apart like that – even if it took two exceptional saves from Sánchez to prevent PSG getting a second-half goal that might have made the denouement more anxious than it was. There have been plenty who have doubted Maresca's tactical approach, his apparent over-caution, his obsession with avoiding risk. But on Sunday, he clearly got the gameplan right. Using Pedro Neto as an auxiliary wing-back helped negate the forward surges of Achraf Hakimi but it was on the other flank, the way space was created for Palmer, that the game was won. These were moments that will define careers and, in so doing, offer legitimacy and prestige to the Club World Cup. As world champions, after a performance like that, with a squad of such depth, Chelsea have to be considered serious contenders for the Premier League title. But in the end, the football seemed an afterthought. There is always something uncomfortable to the European mind in the militarism of US sporting fanfare (which has begun, regrettably, to seep into the FA Cup final). Why was the Star-Spangled Banner played before kick-off? When has the host's anthem ever previously been played like that at a Fifa event? Why was there a fly-over of military planes? Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion By the trophy presentation, that had become something much more sinister. Was the US hosting football, or was football hosting the US? Or rather a particular vision of the US represented by Trump? Fifa has just opened offices in Trump Tower: Infantino's alliance with the president is both committed and alarming. And having pushed through his vision of the Club World Cup with all its flaws without meaningful consultation, what next for Fifa? Checks and balances simply don't apply any more. This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@ and he'll answer the best in a future edition.