Reece James admitted he was baffled by Donald Trump’s presence on the stage as Chelsea lifted the Membership World Cup.
The Blues had been surprisingly dominant winners against Paris Saint-Germain in New Jersey, winning 3-0 with Cole Palmer netting twice and offering the help for Joao Pedro to get on the scoresheet.
James was handed the trophy by Trump however, slightly than make the customary swift exit, the American president loitered because the trophy was raised earlier than being smuggled apart by FIFA chief Gianni Infantino.
THEY DID IT! 💙@ChelseaFC raise the FIFA Membership World Cup!
CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD 🏆
GLOBAL HOME OF FOOTBALL | Dwell All Summer season Lengthy | https://t.co/i0K4eUtwwb | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld #CHEPSG pic.twitter.com/44SgOhV7n7
— DAZN Soccer (@DAZNFootball) July 13, 2025
Trump didn’t get the memo!
England worldwide James mentioned: “They advised me that he was going to current the trophy after which exit the stage, and I assumed that he was going to exit the stage, however he wished to remain.”
Palmer, who claimed the person of the match award from Trump, added: “I knew he was going to be right here however I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand once we lifted the trophy. I used to be a bit confused, yeah.”
It was a weird finish to what was a incredible evening for Chelsea, as they despatched out a warning to the remainder of the Premier League that their expensively assembled squad is constant to develop at a speedy fee.
James mentioned: “We’re shifting in the correct path, successful this trophy towards such good opposition sends a giant assertion.
“I’m pleased with how the membership has progressed. Subsequent season I hope the membership is competing within the Premier League and to win the title, and competing to go far within the Champions League as properly.”
Maresca will get higher of Luis Enrique
The triumph capped a powerful first season at Chelsea for boss Enzo Maresca with the Convention League trophy additionally tucked away within the cupboard.
And his tactical nous in enabling Palmer to play with extra freedom proved a masterstroke.
Ctrl+C ➡️ Ctrl+V on the 2 first @chelseaFC objectives…
Catch the @FIFACWC Closing | July 13 | Free | https://t.co/i0K4eUu4lJ | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld #CHEPSG pic.twitter.com/IOKO64MEUW
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The Italian mentioned: “Immediately we discovered a place for him the place there was extra space to assault.
“Clearly Cole performed rather well however the effort from all of the gamers was incredible.
“The thought was go man-to-man as a result of when you depart areas to PSG they are going to kill you, so we tried to be very aggressive and suffocate them early on and that depth was essential within the first 10 minutes as a result of scorching warmth, that was actually tough circumstances to play as the sport progresses.”
