President Donald Trump’s presence during Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup victory celebrations Sunday at MetLife Stadium left star midfielder Cole Palmer “a bit confused.”
As the club commemorated its 3-0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain, Trump stayed on stage during the trophy celebrations, typically reserved for team personnel, which baffled the 23-year-old.
“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,” Palmer said.
In footage of the festive scene, Palmer is seen standing beside his Chelsea teammates and Trump, 79, with lip-readers suggesting Palmer was asking why the U.S. president was still there.
Trump, who took in the Club World Cup final in a suite with wife Melania and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, presented Palmer with the Golden Ball, which is given to the top player of the tournament.
Palmer scored three goals throughout the competition, including two in Sunday’s finale.
“To score the goals was a great feeling,” Palmer said. “But I think the way the team showed fire, and obviously the gaffer’s game plan was spot-on.”
Entering Sunday, Chelsea hadn’t played in a competitive match against Paris Saint-Germain since 2016.
The club had plenty of support from the 81,118-person crowd at MetLife Stadium, many of whom backed Chelsea.
“We showed we were here to give it our all,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said. “You can give a detailed plan to your players, but they need to execute it.”
MetLife Stadium is one of the venues across North America playing host to the World Cup next summer.
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