When the World Cup Became America First
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After Chelsea delivered a masterful performance against Paris Saint-Germain at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final in July, the trophy ceremony should have been a straightforward affair.
Standing on a raised dais on the pitch, Chelsea captain Reece James received the winner’s trophy, as his teammates gathered around him for the climactic lift. But after presenting the championship trophy alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Donald Trump continued to linger on stage, even as Infantino quietly departed.
The pause that followed was awkward enough to be visible on television, with Chelsea players glancing at one another as if unsure whether to wait for the American president to make his exit. Finally, goalkeeper Robert Sánchez, standing opposite Trump, gave James a signal to proceed.
What followed was a tableau both celebratory and oddly incongruous: Chelsea’s jubilant squad clustered around their captain, the president of the United States standing directly at the center of the shot, as though he too were part of the team’s triumph.
Chelsea may have stolen the show on the pitch, but Trump had found a way to remain the centre of attention.
The incident baffled several of the players, who couldn’t make sense of the president’s prolonged presence.
“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, so I was a bit confused,” said Cole Palmer, who was named the player of the tournament.
The absurdity did not end there. Footage from the celebration appeared to show Infantino giving Trump a winner’s medal to look at, which he promptly pocketed in his suit blazer. Even the championship trophy was a replica of the original trophy that Trump insisted on keeping in the Oval Office.
Meanwhile, the event had all
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