Chelsea 3-0 PSG
by James Nalton
at the Meadowlands

THE Chelsea players looked on bewildered as US President Donald Trump handed them the Club World Cup trophy, and instead of leaving the podium, as he was encouraged to do by Fifa president Gianni Infantino, hung around on stage for the trophy lift.

Trump had received boos from many in the crowd as he appeared on screen ahead of the final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain at the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, and again as he entered the pitch to present the medals and the trophy.

There were echoes of the 2022 World Cup final when the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, was heavily involved in the post-match presentations, presenting Lionel Messi with the World Cup trophy.

Fifa allows these political figures to be part of these moments for their own ends, and in some cases, actively encourages it. After courting Trump all year at the White House and more recently at Trump Tower, where Fifa now also rents office space, Infantino cannot be surprised that the US president wanted it to be his moment and his tournament. He’ll likely want the same again at the 2026 World Cup.

Both of these instances, in Qatar and the US, could be considered forms of sportswashing, especially as the players are obliged to be in the frame with the heads of these repressive regimes.

Cole Palmer looked slightly annoyed. Reece James could be seen asking Trump: “Are you leaving?” Marc Cucurella laughed in response to his captain’s question and, no doubt, at the absurdity of it all.

In that short exchange, the three players reflected the feelings of most onlookers, and Trump remained front and centre until eventually being ushered to the back of the podium by Infantino.

“I knew he was gonna be here,” Palmer said after the game of Trump’s presence. “But I didn’t know he was gonna be on the stand when we lifted the trophy, so that was a bit confusing.”

While the Trump charade exhibited some of the worst of the Club World Cup, Palmer, who was named the tournament’s best player, showed some of the best of it.

Sunday’s game was played just a month or so before a few blokes from Burnage, Manchester, are due to play a couple of momentous dates at this stadium as part of Oasis’s 2025 reunion tour, and it was a footballer from down the road from there in Wythenshawe, Manchester, who was the star player on this global stage in front of 81,118 fans in East Rutherford.

Though Oasis and Palmer now have London connections, with the brothers Gallagher both living there and Palmer playing his club football for Chelsea, there will very much be a Manchester theme at the Meadowlands this summer.

Having scored in the quarterfinal against Palmeiras (no relation), Palmer came alive in this final, scoring two outstanding goals and assisting another against a PSG side who were widely expected to win.

Palmer looks comfortable on this stage, but is uninterested in the pomp and exaggeration surrounding it. He’s uninterested in the unnecessary things that have marred this tournament outside the football; uninterested in Trump, beyond being slightly irritated that he was on stage during their trophy lift.

When commenting in a post-match interview with DAZN on what his manager Enzo Maresca had brought to Chelsea, Palmer said: “He’s building something special, something important. We have a young team. Everyone’s talked a lot of shit about us all season, but I feel like we’re going in the right direction.”

Palmer is not here for media niceties or clean, TV-friendly quotes that advertisers will like. He’s here to play football, and he’s really good at it.

Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal also played his part in the win, saving well from Desire Doue in the first half and Ousmane Dembele in the second, and the finish from Joao Pedro from Palmer’s assist was also fitting of this world stage.

To add to the drama, there was an incident after the final whistle involving PSG manager Luis Enrique, who raised his hands towards the face of Joao Pedro, and made contact with his neck.

The angle of some of the replays made it appear as if Luis Enrique had swung a punch, and Joao Pedro was knocked down by it. 

The final had begun with legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer saying his familiar line, “let’s get ready to rumble,” so maybe it’s no surprise that it ended in fisticuffs, although it was more WWE than WBC.

The real knockout blows were delivered by Palmer, though, leaving no doubt as to who would be named the Superior Player of the Match, even though someone else tried to steal his spotlight.