Donald Trump pays homage to football greats, met with boos and cheers from Club World Cup crowd
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Chelsea's Reece James holding the trophy as he celebrates with teammates and US President Donald Trump after their Club World Cup win.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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EAST RUTHERFORD – United States President Donald Trump paid homage to football great Pele after being met with boos and cheers from the crowd at the Club World Cup final on July 13 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Chelsea walloped Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to close out the newly expanded version of the tournament, designed as a glittering curtain-raiser for the 2026 World Cup that the US will co-host with Mexico and Canada.
Mr Trump was seated next to Fifa boss Gianni Infantino in box seats at MetLife Stadium, where fans booed him when he appeared briefly on the jumbotron during the US national anthem.
He was on his feet in the same VIP suite after Chelsea completed their thrashing of PSG, pumping his fist as congratulatory music blared.
Mr Trump was met with boos from the crowd again as he posed with the match referees on the pitch during the trophy ceremony, as organisers kept the music pumping in the stadium.
He handed Chelsea their trophy and stood in the middle of the players for their team photo and celebration.
“I knew he was going to be there 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 Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer.
Asked in a TV interview who he believed was football’s greatest of all time, Mr Trump named Brazilian icon Pele, who helped spark interest in the sport in the US in his brief time playing for the New York Cosmos in the fledgling North American Soccer League in the 1970s.
“I came to watch Pele and he was fantastic,” he told broadcaster Dazn.
“That’s like saying Babe Ruth, but I would say Pele was so great.”
Mr Trump has embraced sport’s super-sized spotlight during his second term, becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in February.
In May, he announced Washington DC as the host for the 2027 National Football League Draft from the Oval Office.
The 79-year-old regularly attends Ultimate Fighting Championship events and has said he wants to host such fights at the White House in 2026.
Fifa announced earlier in July that it had opened an office in New York’s Trump Tower ahead of the 2026 World Cup. A record 48 national teams are set to take part. REUTERS
