Chelsea lifted the FIFA Club World Cup trophy on Sunday, but President Donald Trump has revealed that the original piece of silverware will not be coming home with them to Stamford Bridge
Chelsea will not be bestowed the original FIFA Club World Cup trophy despite winning the competition, with President Donald Trump revealing it will stay at the White House. The rampant Blues beat PSG 3-0 in New Jersey on Sunday.
Enzo Maresca’s men were emphatic as they took on the Champions League winners at MetLife Stadium. Cole Palmer bagged a brace after 30 minutes and Joao Pedro added a third before half-time to make it 3-0, the eventual final score.
The post-match scenes and trophy celebrations were marred by controversy, with some of the champions’ players confused by the prolonged presence of the US president, who spoke after the final, disclosing some telling information about the Club World Cup trophy.
Trump was greeted in New Jersey by scores of boos as he and Fifa president Gianni Infantino joined Chelsea’s cohort on the pitch after their success to give out medals and prizes.
After the celebrations had subsided, Trump spoke to DAZN and claimed that in a conversation with Infantino, it was made clear that the original Club World Cup trophy would remain stateside in the Oval Office.
“[Fifa] is doing fantastically well for [football in America], it’s a growing sport, it is a great sport,” Trump began. “They said: ‘Could you hold this trophy for a little while?’
“We put it in the Oval Office and then I said: ‘When are you going to pick up the trophy?’ And he [Infantino] said: ‘We’re never going to pick it up, you can have it forever in the Oval Office.’ And they actually made a new one, but right now [the original] is in the Oval.”
Trump was present on stage after full-time during the medal-giving process, but when the time came for the trophy lift, while Infantino exited, Trump did not.
Instead, he awkwardly remained on the stage, amongst the cheering Chelsea players who seemed confused by his presence, and were made to celebrate around him.
Captain Reece James hoisted the trophy aloft for the Blues and was questioned after the match about Trump and what the president said to him.
“To be honest, it was quite loud,” stated James. “I couldn’t hear too much. He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment.”
Final hero Palmer was also asked about his presence and admitted: “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. I was a bit confused, yeah.”
Levi Colwill disclosed that the plan was for Trump to exit the stage long before he eventually gave way, as he recollected: “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.”
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