United States president Donald Trump has claimed that the Club World Cup trophy lifted by Chelsea after their recent victory was actually a replica because the original is now a permanent fixture in the Oval Office.
Trump, who attended the final alongside members of his cabinet and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, played a central role in the post-match ceremony.
He and Infantino jointly handed over the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James, though Trump’s presence caused visible confusion among the Chelsea players and prompted quiet pleas from Infantino to step aside.
The trophy, according to Trump, never made it back to Chelsea in London.
“I said, When are you going to pick up the trophy? [They said] ‘We’re never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We’re making a new one,’” Trump revealed in an interview with official Club World Cup broadcaster DAZN. “And they actually made a new one. So that was quite exciting, but it is in the Oval [Office] right now.”
The claim suggests that Chelsea, fresh off their hard-fought win in the tournament’s final, were handed a newly minted replica while the original remained in Washington D.C.
Trump’s involvement in FIFA-related events has become more frequent since the beginning of his second term in office.
In March, Infantino presented the Club World Cup trophy at an event in the Oval Office, and it has remained there ever since.
In the same DAZN interview, Trump mused about issuing an executive order to rename soccer as “football” in the U.S., and claimed world leaders have praised America as “the hottest country in the world,” referring to its economic and political status.
Speaking about FIFA’s ongoing partnerships with the U.S. and upcoming international tournaments, Trump said: “It’s about unity. It’s about everybody getting together and a lot of love between countries. I guess this is probably the most international sport, so it can really bring the world together.”
