Cole Palmer was left shocked and stunned as United States President Donald Trump joined Chelsea on stage as they celebrated their Club World Cup success on Sunday.
In a moment that has gone viral on social media, a bemused Palmer appeared to question why Trump, who presented Chelsea with the trophy alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, remained in position on the stage as Reece James lifted the trophy and the team began their celebrations amid fireworks and confetti.
Palmer, who scored twice and set up another as the Blues stunned favourites Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in front of Trump in the final in New Jersey, said afterwards: “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, yes.”
Blues skipper James, who was presented the trophy by Trump, added: “They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage. I thought that he was going to exit the stage but he wanted to stay.”
Asked what Trump had said to him, James added: “To be honest, it was quite loud. I couldn’t hear too much.
“He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment.”
Palmer: We proved our doubters wrong
Meanwhile, Palmer revelled in proving Chelsea’s doubters wrong as they claimed their second Club World Cup trophy with a superb victory over the European champions.
Palmer found the same corner of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s net twice in eight first-half minutes before setting up Joao Pedro for Chelsea’s third goal as they claimed their second trophy of the season following their Conference League win.
PSG had been heavily fancied to lift the trophy and complete a quadruple after thrashing Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals, but they could not recover after Chelsea’s rampant first-half showing, and had Joao Neves sent off for a hair-pull on Marc Cucurella.
Palmer’s goals came almost exactly a year after he scored in England’s Euro 2024 final loss to Spain, but this time there was never any doubt they would lead to a victory which, according to the 23-year-old, was made all the sweeter by the pre-match expectations.
“Obviously it’s a great feeling,” Palmer said on DAZN. “Even better because obviously everyone doubted us before the game.
“But to go out there and put a fight on like we did against a great team, it’s good.”
“I like finals and it happened again,” he added of his goals, which equalled his total for his previous 29 appearances for club and country combined and took him to 18 for the season in total.
“The gaffer put a great game plan out. He knew where the space was going to be. I just had to repay him and score some goals.”
“He’s building something special, something important,” he added of head coach Enzo Maresca. “I feel like we are going in the right direction.”
Maresca said: “Today we found a position for him where there was space to attack.
“I’m happy for Cole but the effort from all the players has been fantastic.”
In a showpiece fixture which featured lengthy pre- and half-time shows more typical of NFL games, and was watched Trump, Maresca insisted he saw the win coming before their 22nd-minute opener.
“No words for the players,” he said. “They deserve it. It’s a good moment.
“For me, we won the game in the first 10 minutes. In the first 10 minutes we set the tempo for the way we want to play. We were very good.
“Unfortunately with the weather conditions it is not easy to do for 90 minutes, but I think we won the game in the first 10 minutes.”
Chelsea now face a quick turnaround to the new season, beginning their Premier League campaign live on Sky Sports against Crystal Palace in only a month’s time on August 17.
“Our future is very exciting,” added Maresca. “But I’m more excited for three weeks off!”
