What Chelsea players said to Donald Trump at bizarre trophy ceremony
Even Cole Palmer took leave of his famously understated demeanour as the world's most powerful man turned party-gatecrasher at the Club World Cup.
In his picture-frame moment, the two-goal match winner is cast into shadow by Donald Trump's 6ft 3in frame muscling in for the Chelsea trophy lift.
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Yet, in another attention-grabbing moment for the US president, it is the startled demeanour of the usually nonplussed forward that endures after a controversial Fifa tournament that had already bemused many others.
Several team-mates, including Marc Cucurella and the goalkeeper Robert Sánchez, appeared happy enough to welcome Trump among them for their crowning moment. But, as confirmed by lip readers, it is Palmer who first takes issue with whether Trump should have exited stage right before club captain Reece James lifted the trophy in New Jersey.
'What's he doing'
Viewers studying footage initially believed they had spotted Palmer, behind Trump, asking James 'What's he doing?' James then seemingly asked the president 'are you going to leave?'
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However, following analysis, lip-reading expert Jacqui Press told Telegraph Sport Palmer shouted: 'Mate… mate… wait, just wait,' and James asked Trump and Sánchez at the same time: 'Can, can I lift?'
As James then lifted the trophy, Trump remained on stage, clapping and smiling, amid jubilant player scenes before Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, finally ushered him to the back of the stage and out of sight.
Both Palmer, a standout performer in the 3-0 final win over Paris St-Germain, and James later confirmed they had been taken aback that Trump 'wanted to stay'. '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,' Palmer said. 'I was a bit confused, yes.'
Palmer scored twice for Chelsea in their 3-0 win over PSG - Getty Images/Richard Sellers
England team-mate James added: 'They [Fifa] 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. He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment.'
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Palmer added: '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.'
While the players may want to distance themselves from politics, other figures at the game will have welcomed Trump's presence. For Infantino – described by Trump as a 'friend' on Sunday – and perhaps even the Chelsea part-owner Todd Boehly, the US president's prominence at the final will not have been unwelcome.
Boehly was among the 81,118 at the MetLife Stadium to enjoy one of the club's finest nights since his consortium secured a takeover from Roman Abramovich in 2022. Public accounts also suggest the American is a Republican supporter, having most recently provided financial backing to the US House of Representatives member Patrick McHenry in his re-election campaign. He was also part of a Los Angeles Dodgers party that was welcomed by Trump to the White House in April after the team's Major League Baseball championship title.
Trump watched Chelsea's victory primarily alongside Infantino, however, with the pair having grown increasingly close over the past year ahead of the World Cup next summer. In an interview with DAZN, Trump said: 'Gianni is a friend of mine, he's done such a great job with the league and with soccer – or as they would call it 'football', but I guess we call it soccer. I'm not sure that change could be made very easily. But it's great to watch – and this is a little bit of an upset that we're watching today, isn't it?'
President Trump, alongside wife Melania, and Fifa president Gianni Infantino watched Chelsea's victory together in the stands at the MetLife Stadium - Getty Images/Chris Brunskill
The tournament, propped up by a Saudi Arabian commercial deal with DAZN, the rights-holder, has failed to win over many others, however. Almost twice as many people watched England's Women's European Championship thrashing of Wales on ITV than Chelsea's Club World Cup triumph on Channel 5, according to figures seen by Telegraph Sport.
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The two fixtures went head-to-head on Sunday after being scheduled for 8pm kick-offs and it was the women's match that attracted more viewers, with a five-minute peak of 4.4 million tuning in. The Club World Cup final, meanwhile, was watched by a peak audience of 2.3 million.
The average ratings for each programme were also 2.9 million and 1.1 million, respectively, figures that are arguably as reflective of wider audience habits as they are of interest – or lack of – in the matches being shown.
However, England Under-21s' march to a second successive European title was also watched by more viewers on Channel 4 than the Club World Cup final, with 3.7 million tuning in to their thrilling extra-time victory over Germany last month.
Despite Fifa having struggled to sell the television rights for the Club World Cup, Channel 5's viewing figures for coverage it sub-licenced from streaming service DAZN are said to have been above the UK broadcaster's programme average.
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'We're delighted with the performance of the tournament so far for us,' a Channel 5 spokeswoman told Telegraph Sport towards the end of the group stages last month.
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