Donald Trump awkwardly crashed Chelsea’s Club World Cup trophy celebration in a bizarre post-game moment.
Featured VideoChelsea’s historic 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Club World Cup on Sunday should’ve ended with a moment of pure triumph. Instead, the celebration took a strange detour thanks to a surprise cameo by President Donald Trump.
Held at MetLife Stadium in New York, the final marked the first edition of an expanded Club World Cup. Chelsea cruised to victory, dominating PSG to secure their global crown. Captain Reece James prepared to lift the trophy, a sacred tradition in global football (also known as soccer in the United States), where the players take center stage.
AdvertisementHowever, things quickly went off-script. Trump was on hand to “commemorate” the event and present the trophy to the players. This was supposedly to highlight North America’s role in next summer’s men’s World Cup. But as Chelsea lined up to receive their medals, a strange scene unfolded. FIFA President Gianni Infantino appeared to hand Trump a medal of his own, as if he had been playing on the field with Chelsea.
They then carried the winner’s trophy out to the waiting team, when they were supposed to promptly leave the stage and let the players have their victory.
Then came the big moment. The team’s captain took the trophy, only to find Trump still standing awkwardly next to him. A clip shows midfielder Cole Palmer visibly confused, while James appears to ask if Trump planned to move aside. He didn’t. So, James raised the trophy anyway, with Trump uncomfortably close, his hand inches from the metal trophy.
AdvertisementAs the team celebrated on camera, Infantino returned to the stage, pulling Trump behind the team so they could get the shot of them celebrating without the American president front and center.
Fans were stunned. Even in a sport known for its occasional political theatrics, few expected Trump to try and share the team’s victory moment.
AdvertisementSoccer fans react to Trump’s Club World Cup cameo
Clips of the bizarre celebration spread quickly across social media. One post simply captioned the scene, “Why is trump in there man🤣” Others joked that Trump must’ve thought he won the tournament himself.
“You might make it all the way to the U.S. presidency, basically the ruler of the world, but still be dying for attention every second. Chelsea players are like why the hell is he on the stage?” tweeted @ay_0971.
Advertisement“Donald Trump has celebrated more International trophies than Arsenal,” @NoContextChe1 posted.
Critics were quick to point out that Trump has a history of inserting himself into events. He has even gone so far as to claim he might host a UFC event on the White House lawn someday.
Advertisement@tio.pedro.aka.tio “You can leave!, says Chelsea midfielder, Reece James, but Trump, in his predictable narcissist fashion, crowds the stage and steals the moment from the team. #chelsea #vs #trump #clubworldcup #worldtok #eutok #eurotok #aussietok #latinatok #uktok #england #unitedkingdom #futbol ♬ original sound – Tio Pedro 🏴☠️
He even took the moment a step further during an interview with Dazn, the tournament’s official broadcaster. Trump claimed that the trophy now sits in the Oval Office and that FIFA made a duplicate for Chelsea.
“They said, ‘We’re never going to pick it up. You can have it forever.’ So that was quite exciting,” Trump said in the interview.
Whether that’s true or not is unclear. But what’s certain is that Chelsea’s players earned their glory. Trump just happened to be there.
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