Chelsea stars are surprised: Booed Trump irritated on the winners' podium of the Club World Cup

Chelsea FC wins the FIFA Club World Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain. But the spotlight is on Donald Trump. The US president is pushing for the spotlight. This is typical of this final, where everything is more important than football.

And suddenly they stepped into the spotlight, venturing out of their protected environment. The final of this FIFA Club World Cup had already been over for 26 minutes on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, with Chelsea FC crowned "World Champions" with a deserved 3-0 victory over a surprisingly helpless Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain, when Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino strode across the arena's turf.

It was the moment of truth for the US president and the FIFA boss. Now, in this concrete bowl on the outskirts of New York, nothing was embellished, nothing was edited out, nothing was faded out. Now it was simply about real, natural, pure emotions. Trump and Infantino were well aware of this. They waved to the audience in a friendly manner, but the response was prompt and unmistakable: boos. Boos so loud that even the stadium DJ couldn't drown them out with his music.

Who were the expressions of discontent directed at?

It was unclear which of the two these expressions of discontent were directed at. Only Trump, whose sometimes radical domestic and foreign policy has alienated many around the world and who has no connection to soccer whatsoever, even though Infantino had described him as a "big soccer fan" in the run-up to the final. Or Infantino himself, who had declared his prestigious event, this Club World Cup, a "huge success" at a meeting in New York City the day before and said that "the golden era of club soccer had begun." Perhaps, however, the protest was simply directed at both of them.

Together, they then presented the golden trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James on the hastily erected stage at the center circle. Infantino, accustomed to such honors for years, wanted to move on, leave the space to the jubilant winners, and not take center stage for once. But Trump didn't follow him. He remained standing next to James, applauding and even swaying along with the Chelsea players.

Cole Palmer "a little confused"

On the one hand, there was something cute about it. Trump seemed like someone who didn't know the protocol, but still enjoyed the ceremony and spontaneously wanted to join in the celebration. On the other hand, it was just typical Trump. It's never about others, but always about him first. "I was a little confused," said Cole Palmer, who scored the first two goals with two well-placed shots in the 22nd and 30th minutes and assisted João Pedro's third (43rd minute). He said he knew Trump would be "on stage" for the awards ceremony, "but I had no idea he'd still be there when we lifted the trophy."

This sequence fit the overall picture of this final on July 13th. A grand setting, a grand stage, plenty of celebrities, plenty of showmanship – only the football seemed to be a bit of a distraction. This was already clear before the match. The players had just finished their warm-up and returned to the locker rooms when an oversized, golden version of the Club World Cup trophy was erected at halftime. In front of it stood four large, golden letters: FIFA. A marching band played, naturally in golden jackets, before Robbie Williams sang the tournament anthem, "Desire." At least he was casually dressed in a tracksuit jacket.

Gold, glamour, Gianni engravings

Gold and glamour – that's Infantino's world. The only thing missing was for the FIFA boss to ride through the arena on a chariot – like Caesar in ancient Rome – and be cheered by the crowd. MetLife Stadium would have been his Colosseum. But Infantino wasn't standing on the pitch, but in his box – next to Trump and his wife, Melania. In front of the trio: the real trophy of this tournament, naturally made entirely of gold, designed by Tiffany. The name Gianni Infantino is engraved – not once, but twice.

Infantino and Trump watched the US national anthem, the flyover, and one of so many fireworks displays. The prelude to this final was long and felt like a Super Bowl—and Infantino would like to see his Club World Cup in the same sphere as the final of the National Football League (NFL).

Pregame show delays kickoff by eight minutes

The final was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., but the show acts delayed kickoff. And even when the national anthem had faded, the smoke from the fireworks had cleared, and the Chelsea and PSG players were on the pitch, ready to finally begin the eagerly awaited final, they had to wait another minute. The schedule still included Michael Buffer, who, like at the big boxing matches of old, yelled "Let's get ready to rumble" into his microphone. A ten-second countdown followed on the stadium displays, and then, at 3:08 p.m., eight minutes late, the ball finally rolled.

Chelsea played and combined in the way PSG, in particular, had played and combined in this tournament so far. The French team had only conceded one goal at this Club World Cup, having thrashed Real Madrid in the semifinals. But the Champions League winners were far from their stellar form of recent weeks in this final. And that was largely due to their opponents from southwest London.

Seven games, more than $100 million in revenue

"We are very proud of this title," emphasized coach Enzo Maresca. He and his Chelsea team had already won the Conference League on May 28th with a 4-1 final victory over Real Betis. But the Club World Cup success has a different tone – and was financially far more lucrative. Chelsea earned more than $100 million from seven tournament matches. The final triumph alone brought in $40 million.

Infantino intends to continue attracting such sums in the future. The next Club World Cup is scheduled for 2029. "I feel this competition will be as valuable, or even more valuable, than the Champions League," says Marecsa. Words Infantino likes to hear. As the Chelsea players celebrated exuberantly on the stage of the stadium's pitch at the end of his tournament, confetti shot up behind them. The color? Gold, of course.