Vesper

Lamine Yamal to be investigated over dwarfism row https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cn5kpd4y2yvo Spain's Ministry of Social Rights has asked the country's prosecutor's office to investigate Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal after he reportedly hired people with dwarfism to perform at his 18th birthday party. Lamine Yamal hosted a party on Sunday at a rented property in Olivella, a small town 50 kilometres north west of Barcelona, with guests including YouTubers, influencers, and several Barcelona team-mates. It is alleged Lamine Yamal hired a group of entertainers with dwarfism, something the Association of People with Achondroplasia and other Skeletal Dysplasias in Spain (ADEE) described as "unacceptable in the 21st century". When contacted by BBC Sport, the Directorate General for People with Disabilities - part of the Ministry of Social Rights, ConsumerAffairs, and 2030 Agenda - said: "ADEE has filed a legal complaint. "Therefore, this Directorate General has asked the Prosecutor's Office to investigate to determine whether the law and, therefore, the rights of people with disabilities have been violated." The ADEE said it "publicly denounces the hiring of people with dwarfism as part of the entertainment," and said it would take legal action as it "perpetuates stereotypes, fuels discrimination, and undermines the image and rights" of people with disabilities. In a statement it said: "These actions violate not only current legislation but also the fundamental ethical values of a society that seeks to be egalitarian and respectful. "The general law on the rights of persons with disabilities expressly prohibits the following practices: 'Shows or recreational activities in which people with disabilities or other circumstances are used to provoke mockery, ridicule, or derision from the public in a manner contrary to the respect due to human dignity are prohibited'." However, Spanish radio station RAC1, external broadcast an interview with someone claiming to be one of the entertainers present at the party who defended Lamine Yamal. "No-one disrespected us, we worked in peace," said the artist, who asked to remain anonymous. "I don't understand why there's so much hype. We're normal people, who do what we want, in an absolutely legal way. "We work as entertainers. Why can't we do it? Because of our physical condition? "We know what our limit is and we will never exceed it: we are not fairground monkeys." The performer said it lasted one hour, and afterwards the entertainers joined in with the party. "We dance, we distribute drinks, we do magic... there are many types of shows. Everyone had a great time." When approached for comment by BBC Sport, a Barcelona spokesperson said the club was "not in a position to comment on an act that falls strictly within the private sphere", but added their position would be reassessed once "concrete information" has been ascertained.

Big boost for Arsenal as they’re now at the final stages of tying Ethan Nwaneri down to a new contract. Despite speculation, Nwaneri’s preference has always been to stay at Arsenal, and playing time was not a major factor during contract talks. (David Ornstein)

this is a steal for Arse Arsenal and Valencia have exchanged documents over the deal for Cristhian Mosquera deal. He’s set to move for €15m plus add-ons, with his medical due to take place today. (Fabrizio Romano)

Just 7% of Chelsea fans would NOT sell Nicolas Jackson this summer It's quite clear here https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/just-7-of-Chelsea-fans-would-not The big debate of this week has been whether Chelsea should sell Nicolas Jackson or not. So, what do we do when there are big debates going on? We ask the incredible community on here to give their opinions via a poll. On this poll, I wish I added another option to say that you’d sell Jackson if a replacement comes in regardless of whether he goes to a Premier League rival or not, but never mind. Either way, I think we got the feel of the fan base in this community via these results. I asked, are you selling Nicolas Jackson this summer if it's a good fee? 39% said yes, regardless of anything else 35% said yes, but not to a Premier League rival and only if he’s replaced 20% said yes, but not to a Premier League rival 7% said no, regardless of anything else Incredible results really that are very clear, most of us would sell Jackson this summer. My view? I’d sell Jackson and I’d not worry about where he goes. I’ve never understood the Premier League rival thing for players like this. If said player wants to go to a rival, then that’s his mindset clear to me, and let them go. We only need to be worrying about ourselves and not our rivals. If we are prepared to sell said player, are we really strengthening an opponent? Is Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga really anything to be majorly concerned about at Arsenal? Maybe it makes them better in a deeper squad sense, but does it improve them? I would sell Jackson to whoever pays the fee for him; it’s about getting the most money for him in my view. I don’t dislike Jackson as a player, far from it - I can appreciate what he offers and what he brings, but it’s just not enough and I just don’t see him as a Chelsea player for the future so if any offer comes in, why not sell now? I’d probably like to see a striker come in and replace him but again, I’d not see that as the be all and end all. We could easily keep Marc Guiu as the third choice centre forward if that is what we want - he looks like the real deal and it would be good for him to get some domestic cup games. My gut does say that we would need another new striker though but it’s not essential. I might be in the minority thinking that Joao Pedro is a very good 9, and you all know I rate Liam Delap. But once again, I agree with the mass majority in this poll.

EXCLUSIVE! Chelsea make fresh enquiry for Manchester City player Also, sourced news on Jorrel Hato in this... https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/exclusive-Chelsea-make-fresh-enquiry Chelsea are getting to work as they look to have a strong end to the summer transfer window. The transfer plans have stayed the same despite winning the Club World Cup, and targets they have already had, are being worked on again now. Chelsea have never stopped speaking with the agents of Jorrel Hato, and they are also once again in contact with Ajax discussing a fee for the young defender. Hato has been high on Chelsea’s defender list for some time now, but at the moment Chelsea and Ajax are some way apart on agreeing a fee. The player is keen and that side of the deal is pretty much locked in. But Chelsea are now discussing a fee with Ajax. Hato is looked at as a centre back option on the left, as well as potential cover for Marc Cucurella going into next season. As well as Hato, Chelsea have made a new enquiry for Manchester City’s rising star Nico O’Reilly, SPTC Sources understand. Chelsea enquired for him in the January window but City swiftly turned away Chelsea’s approaches. The Blues are asking about him again this window and love the fact that he’s a versatile young player with a lot of quality and can fill a number of positions, including the Cucurella cover that we mentioned above. O’Reilly has played as a left back, defensive midfielder, centre midfielder, and an attacking midfielder in his career so far. He’s even had some games as a striker! At the moment, sources have heard that City are really not keen to sell O’Reilly and also, they don’t want another Cole Palmer situation! But Chelsea have asked about him again and will see if anything can be done. Hato, ongoing situation, Chelsea are working.

Premier League beware – Gianni Infantino and the Club World Cup are coming for you Fifa president realising global super league dream would sound death-knell for either domestic competitions or Champions League https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2025/07/14/premier-league-threat-gianni-infantino-club-world-cup/ As Enzo Maresca basked in the afterglow of victory on Sunday, the Chelsea manager declared unexpectedly that one day the Fifa Club World Cup would be bigger even than the Champions League, just one more bold statement in another bizarre 24 hours in Fifa world. The Chelsea captain Reece James would say much the same later. Both parts of Chelsea’s American ownership consortium have long been committed to the Club World Cup and would have approved. It will have been just what Gianni Infantino wanted to hear. But what does it mean for football and the English game, which has the world’s most lucrative domestic league? Infantino wants the Club World Cup to be the club game’s most prestigious trophy – overtaking the Champions League and its regional equivalents. Yet the Fifa president has not said where the next tournament is taking place or how soon it will come around again. Will it be 2029, or perhaps 2027 on a two-year cycle? Will Saudi Arabia again pay for it, as the state has done with the $1 billion stake in broadcaster DAZN in February via an investment that effectively financed this summer’s competition? How many times must the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman place the resources of the state at the disposal of Infantino in return for the 2034 World Cup finals, already delivered to Saudi Arabia by decree of a Fifa Congress? It would be hard to argue that this summer’s Club World Cup has supercharged interest among broadcasters. Interest was so low originally that licensees were offering DAZN zero-pound contracts to show it. The game is at a crossroads. Infantino must keep the Club World Cup alive long enough to establish it as the standard-bearer for his vision of a globalised elite. In Europe, Uefa’s prize is the Champions League which pays for everything and was expanded and recalibrated post 2024 to go head to head with Fifa’s offering. Meanwhile, the Premier League is among 39 domestic leagues, along with players’ union Fifpro which is taking legal action against Fifa. It believes that the calendar is at breaking point – and domestic football under serious threat. Industry insiders say that only two of the three tiers – global, continental and then domestic competitions – will survive in their current state. It is not hard to see why the Premier League is so worried at the plans Infantino has to make sure his competition becomes pre-eminent. The Club World Cup is the 2021 Super League in a different guise. It was notable that this morning, the only major football figure to issue the conventional public congratulations to Fifa and Infantino on completion of the tournament was Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez. Real commended Fifa’s “brilliant organisation”. Pérez, of course, remains a Super League extremist, still committed to the idea and its associated corporate entities. He remains at odds with Uefa president Aleksandar Ceferin and La Liga – which makes Pérez a very useful ally for Infantino. Nevertheless, at 78, the Real president will not go on forever. His successor will be courted by both sides. There is another part of the game which has a major stake in this and has so far said little or nothing on the subject. That, of course, is the national associations affiliated to Fifa, and especially the English Football Association and its western European counterparts. In her role as a member of the Fifa Council, FA chair Debbie Hewitt was at the MetLife Stadium for Sunday’s final. Yet the day after the conclusion of the most controversial and disruptive tournament ever launched by a Fifa president, none of them said anything. The FA’s official England account on Twitter/X posted congratulations to Chelsea’s England contingent, and that was it. The FA is the only English football institution that has a vote at Fifa – worth not much when Infantino has so much of Africa and south and central America tied up. But at the very least it is the conduit by which Fifa communicates with English football on official terms. Yet the FA knows nothing as to when the next Club World Cup might be, how many teams might play in it and where – and most importantly – what its effect might be on the global calendar. The FA did mention the Club World Cup very briefly in its annual report, published in April – although only as an example of the challenges new tournaments presented to the structure of the game. It touched on the welfare of players but there was no detailed reference to the tumultuous consequences a reordering of the game might have for domestic English football. The FA has designs on hosting the 2035 women’s World Cup and must weigh its words carefully. The Premier League cannot speak directly to Fifa – certainly not officially. That is why it, along with others, has had to take the Swiss organisation to court. In the meantime, surrounded by powerful club owners, and even more powerful heads of state, Infantino seems to be auctioning off parts of Fifa to interested parties. The 2034 World Cup finals have gone to Saudi. The United States got the Club World Cup, financed by Saudi Arabia. What comes next is not clear. But the silence from the national associations from the big European nations – England, Germany, France and the rest – is quite telling. They feel impotent in the face of these geopolitical negotiations done in their name. Infantino has impeccable contacts in the ownership of English football clubs – Todd Boehly was by Infantino’s side at the trophy presentation and the Fifa president attended a game at Manchester City this season. When Infantino took power at Fifa in 2016 he was backed, rather incautiously, by an English FA that at the time was just delighted to see the back of Sepp Blatter. But now the future looks ever more uncertain. Infantino has now had his moment with Donald Trump on the pitch in New Jersey on Sunday. The Saudis are on board, at least until 2034. The Premier League and other domestic leagues are heading to court with Fifa and the whole calendar seems to be up for grabs. Let us not forget that Infantino has promised a women’s Club World Cup too, although what year that will be and where in the calendar it will appear is, as with many of these things, as yet unclear. Will the Club World Cup be bigger than the Champions League eventually, as Maresca thinks may yet be the case? It certainly will need another generous backer to get it through its next iteration – whenever and wherever that might be – but Infantino is unlikely to let it fade away now. He has too much personal capital tied up in it for that. And no one in his own Fifa family is offering any discouragement.

or Manure

I know that tweet is taking the piss, BUT £200m (€231m) PLUS Mbappe and they can have Cole 🤣 take that £200m and a good chunk of the almsot 90m quid in prize money and buy Donnarumma (if a no go buy Lucas Chevalier or Diogo Costa) , Hato (LB/CB), Olise (Cole 'replacement'), and Marquinhos (our new 'sort of' Thiago, but far younger) keep Sanchez as backup and sell Jörgensen (or use him as makeweight with PSG or Bayern, etc) Alltime highest transfer fees paid in euros, and not inflation adjusted (and NOT counting add-ons in many, (although not all) cases, like Hazard, who we ended up getting £142.5m total for, non inflation adjusted when all was said and done, which was, without a doubt, the biggest robbery in football history pounds-wise, even more than Barca getting smashed by the Coutinho buy)

IF true, we are insane to not jump on that INSTANTLY that is only £25.9m for a young super talent with bags of potential I would be super happy with Gittrens and Fofana as our LWers only players I would like more would be Rogers or Rodrygo, but they both each will cost around £40m to £60m more than Fofana and that dosh needs to go to a LB/CB (hello Hato)

IF we burn Trevoh to partially fund buying luxury player (and already 27yo) Eze, I am going to lose my shit Trevoh has been magnificent since he came back he helped completely shut down the hottest/best team on the planet

he was right

just no

Chelsea, champions of the world – a surreal end to a strange tournament of dubious purpose https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6492689/2025/07/14/Chelsea-trump-infantino-purpose/ Reece James couldn’t work out what on earth was going on. President Donald Trump had just handed him the Club World Cup trophy but was still there on the podium, grinning, not going anywhere. Some of James’ Chelsea team-mates, standing behind him, couldn’t stop laughing. Cole Palmer, the star of Chelsea’s 3-0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain, furrowed his brow and looked at Trump in apparent bewilderment before urging James to wait. “I was a bit confused,” Palmer told reporters afterwards. James turned to Trump and, in front of a packed crowd at MetLife Stadium, as well as a sizeable global television audience, appeared to ask the President of the United States whether he was planning to leave him to it, as convention usually dictates. But Trump kept grinning happily, so James, the victorious Chelsea captain, decided he might as well just hoist that giant gold-plated trophy skywards. And as fireworks filled the sky above the MetLife and the curtain fell on this four-week tournament, we had the surreal scene of Trump still in the thick of Chelsea’s celebrating players, clapping along enthusiastically, to the point where even FIFA president Gianni Infantino looked embarrassed enough to try to drag him away. “They told me that he (Trump) was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage,” James told The Athletic afterwards. “I thought he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay. And that probably highlights how big the tournament is.” Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino watching the Club World Cup final (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) What a strange tournament. What an unusual day in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a Super Bowl-inspired extravaganza in which two halves of a football match bookended a 24-minute half-time show before a trophy ceremony that saw sections of the crowd loudly boo Trump, before the president found his happy place up on the podium with Chelsea’s players. And what a surprising finale, with James and his team-mates overwhelming an outstanding PSG side to win the first Club World Cup of the tournament’s expansion era. Chelsea are champions of the world and, after a very productive month in the United States, more than $100million richer. By the end of the evening the Empire State Building, across the water in Manhattan, had been lit up in Chelsea blue. That has been the whole purpose of the past month, according to Infantino: “To determine, for the first time in history, which will be, really, the best club in the world”. What You Should Read Next Club World Cup is not a glorious new era for football, whatever Gianni Infantino tries to tell us Infantino talks about driving back against elitism, but the vast majority of prize money will end up going to the biggest European clubs That is a claim that triggers a range of responses. An immediate one is to dispute that rationale and to suggest that, on the contrary, the Club World Cup’s prime purpose appears to be a cash grab and, with it, an opportunity to claim back some of FIFA’s power and influence within the world game by getting its hands on club football and selling it to would-be commercial partners — particularly, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Another is to question how this tournament could determine the world’s best team when the champions of the three strongest leagues (Liverpool in the Premier League, Barcelona in La Liga and Napoli in Serie A) were not among the 32 clubs who qualified. Chelsea were here because they won the Champions League in 2021. Since then, with the club sold by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, their squad has undergone a drastic and highly expensive overhaul. Only one player (James) from their 23-man squad for that Champions League final was part of their squad for this tournament. The turnover since then has been enormous, with Romelu Lukaku, Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang among the players who have come and gone in addition to a succession of coaches. To anoint a team as the world’s best would have made more sense in the context of a PSG side who scaled such heights in the Champions League knockout stage (eliminating Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal before thrashing Inter 5-0 in the final) while Chelsea were overcoming Copenhagen, Legia Warsaw, Djurgardens and Real Betis to win the rather less prestigious Conference League. Even at the Club World Cup, PSG could claim to have beaten much stronger opposition en route to the final, including Atletico Madrid (4-0), Bayern Munich (2-0) and Real Madrid (4-0). But Chelsea have improved as the tournament has gone and were entirely worthy winners on the day, not just disrupting PSG’s rhythm in midfield but attacking them almost from the start, too. Their coach, Enzo Maresca, set up his team superbly and seemed to have identified an unlikely weakness in the opposition defence, with PSG left-back Nuno Mendes appearing surprised and unsettled by the way Malo Gusto, Palmer and Joao Pedro targeted him on that side of the pitch. Chelsea’s goals, all in the first half, all came from that side: Palmer scoring with two typically adroit finishes in the far corner before a delightful pass set up Joao Pedro for a delightfully taken third. “Being Club World Cup champions is something that we are very proud of,” Maresca said afterwards. “We are very happy, especially against PSG, who, as I said in the press conference two days ago, I consider the best in the world, with one of the best managers in the world (Luis Enrique) and fantastic players. Today has been a top, top achievement.” It was. And it should be held up as such. It is not hard to find flaws in some of Infantino’s wilder claims about the impact of this Club World Cup, but even if this edition of the tournament has not captured the public imagination among fans in Europe, it has been a tough competition — taken seriously by all the participating clubs, particularly given the size of the prize pot — and one that is here to stay whether its critics like it or not. Maresca went further. “I said to the guys (players) inside that I have the feeling that one day this competition is going to be as important as — if not more important than — the Champions League,” the Chelsea coach said. “I was lucky three years ago to be part of the coaching staff when we won the Champions League (with Manchester City). I lived all these moments, but the truth is that this competition is one of the best in the world. We value it (the same) as the Champions League, if not more so, because it has really been a great triumph for us.” Enzo Maresca has his turn with the Club World Cup trophy (Buda Mendes/Getty Images) It could also prove to be a springboard for Chelsea. Winning the Conference League in May already seems to have helped a young group of players who have been prone to collective lapses and losses of confidence. This, along with a strong finish to the last season in the Premier League, should give them momentum. “It’s a big statement,” James said. “I’m happy with how much the club has progressed. Next season we’re (going to be) competing in the Premier League, to win the title, and competing to go far in the Champions League as well.” There are legitimate questions to ask about whether Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City and others who have competed in this tournament will regret the disruption to what should have been a summer break. It is strange to think Chelsea’s players will only be starting a three-week break at a time when their rivals are already back in pre-season training. But winning this tournament should do wonders for their belief, both individually and collectively. For players such as Robert Sanchez, Gusto and Trevoh Chalobah, who have had difficult spells over the past season or two, it should help convince them they can play an important role at Chelsea. For Palmer, who went through a dip in form in the second half of last season, it is a reminder of his enormous quality and the level he might yet reach. For new signing Joao Pedro — “three games, three goals,” he told reporters afterwards, forgetting to add, “one Club World Cup medal” — it is a tantalising glimpse of the possibilities ahead. There was still undeniably something odd about the whole venture, though. It is strange to see and hear the president of FIFA repeatedly claiming that this is an entirely new tournament, that Chelsea are “the first official FIFA Club World Cup champions” rather than acknowledging they have won an expanded version of a competition that has existed since 2000, and that Chelsea previously won in 2021 as reigning champions of Europe. Surely it would make more sense to talk up a competition’s history rather than deny it — unless, of course, this is more about Infantino’s personal brand. The FIFA president has put himself front and centre of this tournament — and his signature, twice, on that enormous gold-plated trophy — but placing his “great friend” Trump at the heart of the trophy presentation was too good an opportunity to resist. Chelsea’s co-owner, Boehly, who is no stranger to Trump’s orbit, was up there on the podium as part of the presentation party, too. Maybe, recalling a memorable scene in The Simpsons, there was a missed opportunity when the boos started: “No, Mr President, they’re saying Boo-oehly.” But it all ended in smiles and cheers and, frankly, surreal scenes of a type that might live in the memory longer than the football we have witnessed over the past month. Which is not to say that the football has been poor — some of the matches were excellent — but the game is so all-consuming these days, so unrelenting from one season to the next, that there is rarely time to dwell or reflect for long on anything. More tournaments, bigger tournaments, more revenue, more, more, more. This four-week tournament, hastily squeezed into a gap in a congested calendar, is a perfect example of that. One of the great contradictions about the sport is that the more it has grown, the more it has put itself at risk of being used and overshadowed by geopolitical factors. Maybe the way Trump stayed a little too long on the podium was purely a case of crossed wires, but it did feel symbolic of something more than just a new-found affection for Chelsea or a liking for a giant gold-plated trophy which, having spent the past week in Trump Tower, is now on its way to Stamford Bridge.

Club World Cup: The best and worst moments, standout players, fans, games and what should change https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6493120/2025/07/15/club-world-cup-review/ It was “the best v the best”, it was “the worst idea ever implemented in football”. It delivered showstopping games and some rank attendances. It endured extreme heatwaves and storm delays. Its riches were fought for fiercely by clubs, who also fear “disaster” seasons ahead. And it ended with U.S. President Donald Trump sharing the podium with eventual champions Chelsea. Yes, it’s fair to say the newly-expanded 2025 Club World Cup was a football tournament unlike any other. Here a selection of The Athletic’s writers on the ground in U.S. reflect on the best and worst of the event, what impact it may have on the season ahead, what it suggests the 2026 World Cup will be like and what should change before it is staged again. Best moment of the tournament? James Horncastle: I enjoyed seeing a relaxed Pep Guardiola playing on the beach with his Manchester City players. It needed to be cut like a Top Gun montage with some Kenny Loggins music. The fact Loggins, a master of the 80s movie soundtrack, was overlooked as one of the musical ambassadors for this tournament feels like a missed opportunity. Oliver Kay: I can’t claim to have witnessed it myself, but I walked through Times Square so many times over the past week that I would like to think it happened under my nose and I didn’t see it. It was that video of Cole Palmer wobbling awkwardly on a scooter, through the crowds, pretty much unnoticed, in one of the world’s biggest tourist spots, where there’s a giant billboard with his image on it. I love his ability on the pitch, as showcased in the final, and I love his authenticity off it. Cole Palmer left a mark on and off the pitch (Patrick Smith – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) Jordan Campbell: Thiago Silva channeling his inner Al Pacino. The Fluminense captain delivered a stirring speech to his team-mates about not leaving things for later as tomorrow is not promised. It inspired the Brazilian side to a shock 2-0 win over Inter Milan and they then went on to beat City’s conquerors Al Hilal to make the semi-finals. It was a moment that emphasised how big a role leadership still plays in the sport and captured the significance of this competition to the South Americans. What You Should Read Next Thiago Silva’s timeless leadership has Fluminense dreaming of Club World Cup glory A Brazilian icon is turning back the clock in Fluminense's charmed Club World Cup campaign, and now has a reunion with Chelsea ahead Mario Cortegana: From a purely footballing point of view, Al Hilal’s victory against Manchester City. It was a very beautiful game, with a lot of drama, and left us with surely the biggest surprise of the tournament. It was also a warning of what Saudi football can or intends to do ahead of the World Cup they will host in 2034. I also really enjoyed being able to watch live and from so close (in Valdebebas they put us far away!) the first training sessions of Xabi Alonso and his staff at the helm of Real Madrid. It is very different from what we were used to with Carlo Ancelotti since 2021. Felipe Cardenas: When Boca Juniors fans took over Miami and then turned Hard Rock Stadium into a modern version of La Bombonera. With Bayern Munich as the opponent, it was Boca’s moment to shine under the global spotlight. The stadium shook, the chanting never stopped. Miguel Merentiel’s equaliser amounted to absolute bedlam. Boca fans sang the entire game and cried tears of joy even after the loss. Jeff Rueter: For all of the atmosphere created by their fans, Boca Juniors left much to be desired with their onfield performance. That shouldn’t tarnish the achievement of Auckland City, taking a point off of Boca to close the group stage. For the only amateur team in the field to get a result against any team, much less one of the world’s most ubiquitous legacy clubs, is the sort of game that only an event like this can create. Mark Carey: Leaning into the Americanisms of this tournament, I found it funny that legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer screamed: “Let’s get ready to rumble!” ahead of both semi-finals and the final. Having each player enter the pitch individually in their own respective “ring walk” is one thing, but come on — that is too much. I found it entertaining, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Liam Twomey: This tournament will not go down as a high point in the history of the football fan experience, but the South American supporters had the best time. One memory that will always stick with me was seeing — and smelling — the Brazilian barbecue tailgate parties that Flamengo fans had in the car parks outside Lincoln Financial Field before and after their win over Chelsea. FIFA will want to see more of that fusion of local and American culture at the World Cup next year. Flamengo fans enjoyed themselves in Philadelphia (David Ramos/Getty Images) Asli Pelit: I loved watching a handful of beloved South American teams bring that unmistakable garra Sudamericana back to a sport increasingly warped by sovereign funds, private equity, and billionaire ownership. A handful of players from these clubs also reminded me that no matter how old a player is (nor how many times he’s bounced between Europe’s elite clubs) when they come back home to retire swiftly, there’s still joy in the fight. Shout out to Thiago Silva for proving it’s never just a farewell tour. And the fans. Not the casuals who swap jerseys like yesterday’s gym shirts, but the die-hards, the ones who live for their club, who travel across continents, and who chant through the scorching sun until their legs give out. They made me remember why I do this. Why I still love this game, even when so much of it feels lost. Worst moment of the tournament? James Horncastle: When the Oval Office became a mixed zone and Donald Trump spoke about the Middle East and then turned and asked a bemused set of Juventus players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?” A club nicknamed the Old Lady has rarely looked so uncomfortable amid stately locker-room talk. Jordan Campbell: The tears of Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota’s best friend, as a minute’s silence was held for the Liverpool forward. As the game started, both of them were visibly still trying to trick their brains into game mode, but how could they? It was heartbreaking to watch. In that moment, it showed that the melodrama that tends to come with football is exactly that. Mark Carey: The pain of seeing current, and former, team-mates do their best to hold their emotions together during a moment’s reflection for Diogo Jota is a memory that will not go away in a hurry. How they found the strength to think about kicking a football after recent events is beyond comprehension. Oliver Kay: I agree with Mark. Not directly Club World Cup-related, but it was waking up in Atlanta to the tragic news about Diogo Jota and Andre Silva and then seeing and feeling what a profound effect that had on the whole tournament and the whole sport. It still doesn’t seem real. Jeff Rueter: Gianni Infantino and Juventus’ appearance at the White House was particularly catastrophic coming a day before the U.S.’s air strikes in Iran, with reporters posing questions about Trump’s plans while Infantino watched on. Mind you, Iran qualified for the 2026 World Cup in March. For an organization that went to great lengths to keep politics away from the last instalment in Qatar, it was a flagrant instance of hypocrisy. Mario Cortegana: Real Madrid’s painful semi-final defeat against PSG, in which the best thing for Los Blancos was the result (4-0). This thrashing has restored some worries inside and outside the team when it seemed that the arrival of Alonso had changed that. Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, David Alaba and Arda Guler after defeat by PSG (David Ramos/Getty Images) Liam Twomey: Sadly I fear this is doomed to become the defining image of Infantino’s inaugural expanded FIFA Club World Cup: a beaming President Trump keeping himself front and centre of Chelsea’s trophy lift at MetLife Stadium, generating the most emphatic visual riposte possible to the notion that sport can ever be kept separate from politics. Felipe Cardenas: Hard to argue against the politicization of the Club World Cup. It was blatant and completely unnecessary. I will say that seeing Jamal Musiala’s leg break in person (even from a distance in the press tribune) was heartbreaking. In Qatar three years ago, Musiala was a 19-year-old phenom and arguably one of the tournament’s best players. Now his injury has put his participation at the next World Cup at risk. Asli Pelit: There is a creeping Americanization of football, no one asked for and no one needs, least of all at something like the Club World Cup which is supposedly happening to make casual fans love and understand the sport. We don’t need player-by-player intros and we definitely don’t need “Let’s get ready to Rumble” echoing across a football pitch. The beauty of this sport is in its existing rituals, its global soul, not in theatrics borrowed from sports that stop every 10 seconds for commercials. Keep the gimmicks out. Let football be football. Player you most enjoyed watching? James Horncastle: Angel Di Maria. I still don’t think enough is made of how important this guy is to Argentine football. He got the gold medal goal in the 2008 Olympic final, the only goal in the 2021 Copa America final and scored in the 2022 World Cup final. It was a privilege to watch him play his last games for a European team before heading home to Rosario Central. Jordan Campbell: Since Fluminense winger Jhon Arias has gone from hipster to mainstream (and maybe Wolves) I shall avoid naming the Colombian. Ruben Neves’ pinpoint passing and set-piece delivery was a joy to witness for Al Hilal, while Palmer is just so imaginative that he excites every time he gets on the ball. But, even after all these years, it was still Lionel Messi. The narrative that he is no longer an elite player is lazy. Of course he has faded but there were very few players who proved they are clearly above him in his ability to dominate a game. Playing alongside players way below his level, he carried Inter Miami and even against PSG he had a dozen moments where he showed why his brain works differently to everyone else. Messi’s Miami were dismantled by PSG but he still had his moments (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Oliver Kay: I share Jordan’s enduring love of watching Messi, as well as Palmer. But unlike Jordan, I’m not too cool to have been anything other than spellbound by Fluminense’s Arias. What a player: so skilful, so creative, so clever but also so direct in what he does. I would love to see how he fares in Premier League if he does join Wolves, but I kind of love the fact that he’s 27, at the peak of his powers, and still playing in South America. What You Should Read Next Meet Jhon Arias – a novel football hero The softly spoken Colombian winger has emerged as one of the stars of the Club World Cup, and was crucial to Fluminense's win over Inter Mark Carey: I enjoyed Arda Guler dropping into a deeper role and dictating Real Madrid’s build-up from deep. Guler has struggled for regular minutes since moving to Spain, but was billed as an heir to Luka Modric by Ancelotti before he left the club. It looks like next season will be the biggest of the 20-year-old’s career under Alonso. Mario Cortegana: Gonzalo Garcia. Even for those of us who follow the Real Madrid academy, his emergence has been impressive. It’s not normal for a kid from Castilla (Madrid’s reserve team) who had only played 61 minutes this season under Ancelotti to have taken advantage of injuries to Kylian Mbappe and Endrick in this way, with four goals and an assist in six games. And his impact has gone beyond this very good data: we must highlight his defensive work, his reading of the game, the feeling he puts into each play…. The best summary of his tournament is that Alonso compared him to club legend Raul. Jeff Rueter: Nottingham Forest fans should feel bullish about Igor Jesus’s chances of acclimating to the Premier League. With Botafogo, the 24-year-old showed clever movement to pair with his immense physicality to win headers and create separation in the box. Having earned four caps for Brazil since debuting in October, he’ll be determined to make the World Cup roster. Igor Jesus, coming to a Premier League ground near you (Photo: Justin Setterfield – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) Felipe Cardenas: I thought that none of us were going to pick Arias. Well done, Oli. No one, and I mean no one, was able to take the ball off of the Colombian. His low center of gravity and apparent casual way of transporting the ball around the pitch is so impressive. However, I covered PSG multiple times during the tournament and came away as a fan of both Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola. Both players are street-ball type dribblers that any football fan would enjoy watching. Liam Twomey: No player made a bigger impact on the business end of this Club World Cup than Joao Pedro. The Brazilian was on holiday when Chelsea signed him from Brighton & Hove Albion during the mid-tournament player registration window, but his holidays are clearly nowhere near as indulgent as mine. He arrived in prime shape and immediately transformed Chelsea’s attack, providing a clinical edge to Enzo Maresca’s possession play with two brilliant goals in the semi-final win over Fluminense and one more in the final against PSG. Given the riches on offer at this tournament, he has already repaid his transfer fee. Asli Pelit: Ousmane Dembele. His football IQ and spatial understanding were remarkable. I don’t know what happened to him at the final but until then, he was brilliant and a joy to watch. Ousmane Dembele was irresistible against Real Madrid (Buda Mendes/Getty Images) Best fans of the tournament? James Horncastle: I’d expect everyone to say Boca, and with good reason. Bayern’s captured some of the sentiment with their banner at the Auckland City game. “Ten years Baur au Lac. World football is more poorly governed than before. Smash FIFA!” I’m going to go with the fans who actually turned up for the Mamelodi Sundowns-Ulsan game in Orlando. To be one of the 3,000 that felt like 300, now that’s hardcore. Jordan Campbell: Flamengo. It is difficult to decide between them, Palmeiras and Botafogo but, from what I witnessed, Flamengo showed why they have the biggest fan base in Brazil. They turned out in swathes and organised themselves at games so that it felt like a domestic setting with blocks of red generating the best buzz of the live games I witnessed. An honourable mention must go to the estimated 15,000 Saudis who were in Orlando to see Al Hilal beat Manchester City as they were seriously boisterous. Oliver Kay: Urawa Red Diamonds’ fans were amazing. I loved the constant singing, the bouncing up and down, and the overall commitment to supporting their team and enjoying the experience, thousands of miles from home, when they were losing every game. They even did that wonderfully Japanese thing of cleaning up the terraces after themselves. I had a nice chat with a couple of their fans in Charlotte. They’d bought tickets for a knockout game there in anticipation of winning the group. They agreed that was hilarious. Urawa Red Diamonds supporters left an impression (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images) Mark Carey: The Brazilian fans have had such rave reviews, and I agree. I watched Palmeiras twice in the flesh, and their fans did not stop bouncing the whole game from behind the goal. When Paulinho scored an extra-time winner against Botafogo? Bedlam. Unlike anything I have seen in England. Felipe Cardenas: Supporters for every Brazilian club really showed out during the tournament. I’ll add River Plate’s fans as well. Perhaps they weren’t given the credit they feel they deserve. River played all three group matches on the West Coast of the U.S., which for River fans and some pundits in Argentina, was a slap in the face. ‘How dare they put Boca in Miami and River in Seattle?’, they argued. But still, Los Millonarios didn’t make headlines with their traveling band of loyalists, but they were well supported in a part of the country that wasn’t as accessible for their fans. Mario Cortegana: From what I have been able to experience live, those of Real Madrid. Several players actually expressed that it was almost like playing at home. From what I have seen and heard on television, I would highlight the Argentines, above all, and the Brazilians. Jeff Rueter: It’s one thing to travel around the world to follow a tournament favourite. For fans who made the trip to catch the field’s lesser-followed clubs, like the Mamelodi Sundowns-Ulsan match as well as those of Auckland City, it seemed like an unforgettable chance to see their teams play on a global stage. Liam Twomey: Flamengo’s supporters were the best I saw in person, both in terms of numbers and volume, and I was fortunate enough to see them twice. A word of acknowledgement for the fans of Esperance de Tunis, however, who brought their songs and their drums to Philadelphia and never allowed their spirit to be dampened even as Chelsea ruthlessly dispatched their team. Asli Pelit: I spent most of the tournament with Fluminense and Palmeiras fans: pure passion, non-stop music, the kind of energy that makes you feel alive. But when it comes to sheer fandom, Boca fans in Miami and Los Millonarios out on the West Coast put everyone else to shame. You could feel it through the screen, even with DAZN’s spotty coverage trying its best to ruin the vibe. Boca fans gather on Miami Beach (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images) Best game of the tournament? James Horncastle: I enjoyed a lot of the football at this tournament. It wasn’t played at a pre-season pace. If it looked like it did at times that was a consequence of the heat. Manchester City-Al Hilal stands out. Mamelodi-Borussia Dortmund was great fun and there were some good 0-0s, notably Sergio Ramos’ Monterrey against River Plate, which was studs up and guards down; a Street Fighter arcade. Jordan Campbell: Manchester City 3-4 Al Hilal. It had everything. The Saudi side refusing to kick off until the Venezuelan referee (called Valenzuela) checked the VAR monitor (he didn’t), a goalkeeping clinic from Yassine Bounou, Malcom becoming the world-class player many believed he would for half an hour and, after a late extra-time winner, a major upset. Don’t forget the geopolitics, either. It was one of those rare games that once it burst into life, literally anything could have happened and it would not have been a surprise. Utter chaos. Marcos Leonardo settles a Club World Cup classic (Mohamed Tageldin/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images) Oliver Kay: The most enthralling game was Al Hilal’s 4-3 victory over Manchester City, as others have said, but I also really enjoyed PSG’s 2-0 win over Bayern in Atlanta. It was outstanding, lots of drama and high-quality performances on both sides. It wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Champions League knock-out round — which, although Infantino won’t like this, remains the gold standard for club football. Mark Carey: Not just because I was lucky to see the game live, but PSG’s dismantling of Real Madrid was nothing short of the perfect performance. Luis Enrique’s side made Madrid look like a European minnow, bagging three goals before we had reached half an hour. A 4-0 victory was actually a mercy, as PSG took their foot off the gas in the second half in the scorching New Jersey heat. Mario Cortegana: Although it could also be the PSG-Real Madrid, I’ll take the Manchester City 3-4 Al Hilal. The result was a surprise, the game was a rollercoaster, there were so many goals and it went all the way to extra time. The reactions and the faces of Guardiola and his players also showed how much they cared. Jeff Rueter: Botafogo’s 1-0 upset of PSG and Flamengo’s ensuing 3-1 win over Chelsea provided this tournament with its proof of concept that teams from beyond Europe could spring surprises. Botafogo’s win saw Renato Paiva concoct a bold scheme, defending with an aggressively advancing defensive line to limit PSG’s space. And, in true “big club” fashion, Botafogo fired Paiva after a round of 16 exit. So it goes. Felipe Cardenas: Aside from Musiala’s horror injury, the PSG-Bayern clash was, as they say, a proper football match. Both sides were absolutely going for it, with the French champions admitting the day prior that revenge was on their minds. PSG had not forgotten a loss they suffered at the Allianz Arena in November of 2024 during the Champions League. Before over 65,000 people in Atlanta, this European battle was tactical, attacking and full of dramatic moments. PSG eliminated Bayern 2-0 with nine men. It was an incredible theatre. What You Should Read Next PSG v Bayern chaos dissected: Jamal Musiala’s horror injury, two red cards and two fine goals Analysing the major talking points from Saturday's FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final Liam Twomey: At the risk of being skewed by the matches I attended, I’ll go for Bayern’s 4-2 win over Flamengo in Miami. Filipe Luis’ side played the best football of any non-European team at this tournament and after a horrendous opening 10 minutes they really turned the screws on Bayern, who were rescued ultimately by the clinical finishing of Harry Kane. Asli Pelit: Echoing Jeff, I loved how Flamengo and Botafogo beat Chelsea and PSG unexpectedly in the group stages. I love a good underdog story in football. Monterrey vs Inter Milan was also a good one. The Club World Cup makes me think next summer’s World Cup will be… James Horncastle: Better. Of course, it’ll be better than this tournament. But it will also be disrupted, it’ll be hot, expensive, knackering and the U.S. and its cities are so sprawling I think there will still be times when you ask yourself: is a major tournament going on here? I left the Club World Cup seeing cracks in the facade of America as the greatest place on earth to experience live events. Mark Carey: Hot. You can improve things elsewhere — you can even have a bigger PR push to get more fans in the stadium — but you cannot change the weather conditions. In club football, established patterns of play means that players can adapt tactically to the conditions a little more, but internationally you are not afforded that same time to work on those ideas. Therefore, next summer could be quite an attritional tournament. There were many weather delays during the Club World Cup (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images) Jordan Campbell: Peripheral. I say that because while I think the football at the Club World Cup itself was a success, it just never seemed to be the centre of attention in any city. It didn’t help that it was competing for attention with the Gold Cup, NFL, NBA and MLB but I’m not sure you can truly have a captive audience spread across three different countries. Major tournaments are supposed to feel like the centre of the universe for a few weeks . The World Cup is the biggest prize in the sports world but there were regular challenges in trying to find bars who knew the tournament was happening, or who were prepared to show it on one of their million screens. It could make the whole thing seem a little numbing next summer. Oliver Kay: Big … and hot … and possibly chaotic. The past four weeks have barely scratched the surface of next summer’s potential, but the World Cup will be a different matter. It will be spread out across three countries, but I think it will really resonate in the host cities, with so many more fans arriving from overseas. There’ll be more pressure on airlines and public transport, that is for sure. What You Should Read Next Chelsea, champions of the world – a surreal end to a strange tournament of dubious purpose The Club World Cup aimed to crown soccer's best team, but did it? Mario Cortegana: There is plenty of room for improvement, though I have my doubts over how much will change. It is clear that the weather has been a very negative factor, as well as the quality of the grass (although I expected more serious injuries and thankfully there were few). Ticket sales, prices and the press facilities also left much to be desired. Jeff Rueter: More “business as usual” than spectacular. Don’t get me wrong: a World Cup will always break away from the churn of the sport’s routine, and there’s no like-for-like comparison to be found against the Club World Cup. Still, there’s a bit of big event fatigue settling in for ticket-buying fans, players, coaches and stadium staff. From the 2024 Copa América to this Club World Cup — plus the looming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles — the world’s biggest tournament just feels like the latest in a litany of biggest tournaments. Felipe Cardenas: Overwhelming. The cross-country travel, 48 teams and their supporters, an aviation industry that’s understaffed and under fire will all become significant factors. I agree with James that this Club World Cup, while described as a 2026 dress rehearsal, cemented the fact that the U.S. still has work to do as the host of a major football tournament. The Copa America last summer broke open the cracks in the infrastructure that Americans so often boast about. What You Should Read Next ‘It was inhuman’: Why the Copa America final was delayed and dangerously close to disaster Fans were held outside for more than two hours and kick off was delayed by 82 minutes - this is what happened Liam Twomey: Slower to gain momentum. Even in a Club World Cup group stage that sagged at times, the performances of the South American teams created some fun early intrigue. A 32-team tournament maintained some semblance of urgency; now imagine a format which requires an entire group stage to go from 48 to 32 teams. There will be more interest in next summer’s World Cup, but more boredom early on too. Asli Pelit: Here’s my wish list for next year: More cooling stations around stadiums. If noon kickoffs are non-negotiable, then keeping fans hydrated and safe in 110-degree heat isn’t optional. People need shade structures and water fountains. And while we’re at it: simplify public transportation to the stadiums. No one should need a GPS, a prayer, and three train transfers just to get to a game. One way this Club World Cup will shape next season is… James Horncastle: The participants will be late back, less rested and more injury-prone. People still haven’t realised AFCON is in January and it clashes with the expanded Champions League. PSG aside, I wonder how many of the teams involved will win their domestic league. Jordan Campbell: From speaking to performance and fitness coaches in the Premier League a few months back, those not working at a club competing at this tournament have thanked their lucky stars. They believe it is a logistical nightmare as a three-to-four week gap either side of the tournament does not allow enough time for proper recovery and a full pre-season, meaning it is likely that some players will come in undercooked and take time to get going or could be overcooked and trail off, potentially due to injuries, as the season wears on. Oliver Kay: I honestly don’t know yet because it’s such an unknown. I felt pre-tournament that it could really undermine Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid etc, because no sports scientist would recommend the kind of summer they have had. It might actually work in the opposite way and benefit in the short term, but I think the effects will be felt more in the medium term. Even if they battle on through to May, how many of these players will be in peak condition for the World Cup? Harry Kane attempts to cope with the searing heat (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) Mark Carey: Actually not that much. I do not agree with FIFA flogging players with too many games at all, but I don’t think this summer’s tournament will have a tangible impact on the outcome of next season. If there were one thing, it should put more onus on managers rotating their squads a little at the start of the campaign, but otherwise I think its influence will be negligible. Mario Cortegana: Madrid, the Spanish club to go furthest, will have a three-week vacation, so I don’t expect a big impact. I was expecting more in terms of injuries during the tournament, as it was stretching an already very demanding season by almost a month. I do think it could have more damage on clubs in leagues that start the competition earlier. Jeff Rueter: To Mark’s point, I’m very curious if it will be remembered more than a few months from now. Given its branding, one would think this should be a major pillar of the 2025 calendar year. But will Ballon d’Or voters really give outsized considerations to performances in this Club World Cup? Or will this be treated as little more than the most lavish preseason tournament in history for European clubs? What You Should Read Next Ranking the Ballon d’Or 2025 favourites: Has the Club World Cup changed things? A look at the state of play as the world's best players jostle to win the sport's most prestigious individual award Liam Twomey: It’s hard to imagine their Club World Cup exertions helping Chelsea from a physical perspective next season. They’re going on holiday while all of their Premier League rivals build up the conditioning that is vital to sustain a 10-month campaign. On the other hand, the collective confidence this triumph — and particularly the manner of their win over PSG — will give everyone at Chelsea could be genuinely transformative. Felipe Cardenas: Player welfare will remain a talking point and players, coaches, fans and pundits will refer to the Club World Cup as one reason the players may look fatigued in 2025-26. On the flip side, the competition did prepare teams for their trophy quests. When the Copa Libertadores and Champions League rolls around (and other domestic and international tournaments), perhaps we’ll see more battle-tested personalities from teams who were in the competition this summer. In the future the Club World Cup should… James Horncastle: Be less about Infantino, although I understand why this edition was about him. It was the first and it is his baby. So much of the focus was on him and whether or not the tournament worked. There were no other narratives to fall back on. In time, that will change as was the case with the World Cup through the 1930s and 1950s and the European Cup into the 1960s and 1970s. Jordan Campbell: Lean into continental rivalry. It billed itself as ‘best vs best’ and gave many a stick to beat it with after a 10-0 in the second game but the competitiveness of this tournament showed that there is a concept worth pursuing. The South American pride coming up against the wealth of Europe was a strong narrative throughout with all the cultural and stylistic differences it brings. If the Saudi Pro League can provide a few of the Asian representatives in 2029 there should be a third pole capable of competing. What You Should Read Next What can the Club World Cup tell us about the strength of leagues around the world? Just how good is the Brazilian top flight? Is the Saudi domestic game improving or is there still a huge gulf in quality between its clubs? Oliver Kay: See revenue distributed in a way that genuinely benefits the game, rather than just the richest clubs in each region. Before the tournament, Infantino lamented how, in modern football, “the elite is very concentrated in very few clubs, in very countries”, which is certainly true. And yet more than $300million of an (absurd) $1billion prize fund will be split between Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. If Infantino genuinely thinks this helps football’s financial inequalities, rather than compounds them, then he hasn’t learned much from his time at UEFA. If a huge prize pool was the only way to make it attractive to the biggest clubs, then what does that tell us about the tournament? Mark Carey: Have better playing surfaces. It has been widely spoken about, but the bounce of the ball — or lack thereof — has been notable from the television coverage, never mind from the perspective of the players. Considering this is being pitched so favourably by Infantino, the very least you should expect in future is a pitch that is befitting of the elite level. This would be a major step forward. A fire hose is used to water the pitch in Seattle (Photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images) Mario Cortegana: Selling this tournament as if everything has been rosy may have felt necessary to FIFA for the first edition, but for the next one I hope they leave that a little behind. I also hope that during these years they show real interest in improving the schedules to protect professionals and fans from the heat or the quality of the pitches. Jeff Rueter: Have some sense about kick-off slots. Mid-afternoon games in the American summer looked unnecessarily gruelling. With apologies to my friends in Europe who could catch games in primetime, it did a disservice to players and fans alike. Asli Pelit: I’ve got a long list of suggestions echoing my colleagues who touched upon my concerns above. But maybe the place to start is simply asking players and fans: do they even want this tournament to continue? Before expanding formats and squeezing in more fixtures, maybe ask whether we actually need yet another tournament. Empty seats were a lasting legacy of the Club World Cup (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images) Liam Twomey: Make player welfare a bigger consideration than maximising viewer numbers. It feels mildly miraculous that we reached the end of this tournament without a significant player health scare on the pitch, given the brutality of the heat inside many stadiums. Felipe Cardenas: Never use Freed from Desire as the tournament’s soundtrack ever again. I used to like that song.

Cole Palmer really is ‘scary good’. This was his superstar moment https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6492309/2025/07/14/cole-palmer-Chelsea-club-world-cup-final-performance/ On Friday evening, a short clip made its way around social media. It was a young man, hood up, riding around Times Square on a scooter. Few people noticed who it was, but the man weaving through New York’s iconic landmark would scoop the Golden Ball Award for the best player of this summer’s Club World Cup barely 48 hours later. Cole Palmer cannot help being a normal 23-year-old who just wants to play football, but given the manner in which he dominated the final against the European champions Paris Saint-Germain, he might have to accept that he is rapidly becoming one of the game’s superstars. Anyone lucky enough to watch a post-match interview with him will know he does not seek the limelight with his words — he would rather his feet do the talking. He might shy away from attention off the pitch, but the juxtaposition lies in the fact that the very face under the hood was plastered across billboards within the epicentre of New York. What You Should Read Next How Chelsea won the Club World Cup: Big bonuses, training-ground deals and ‘scary’ Palmer The inside story of Chelsea's unlikely triumph in New Jersey that was 329 days in the making “Scary good” was the title that sat above Palmer’s name on the billboard, and it proved to be prophetic of the 23-year-old’s performance in Sunday’s Club World Cup final. Much like he did on two wheels in a crowd of tourists, Palmer was able to wriggle through bodies and find space against PSG’s defence as he almost single-handedly dispatched the French side before half-time. Having played on the left of Chelsea’s attack and as a drifting No 10 this summer, Palmer started on the right flank as Enzo Maresca looked to expose a chink in the armour of Luis Enrique’s side. The selfless running of striker Joao Pedro and Malo Gusto was integral to Palmer’s punishing performance — either running in behind to create space or pushing to that flank to ensure there were bodies around him. “We used Cole and Malo to create an overload in that area,” Maresca said after the game. “It was just the game plan and we try to get the players in positions where they can do everything. It worked quite well.” Gusto’s runs were being consistently found by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, with Palmer on hand to receive any cutbacks, just as he did excellently for Chelsea’s first goal. His second was a near carbon-copy of the first in terms of shot selection — and very similar to his quarter-final finish against Palmeiras — but this time it was Palmer running in behind himself to stretch PSG’s back line on the counter-attack. Chelsea’s No 10 will get the credit, but note the selfless overlapping run from Joao Pedro to create tension in Vitinha’s mind. An extra half-a-beat allowed Palmer to sit centre-back Lucas Beraldo down before passing into the bottom corner with ice in his veins. Power is less of a priority when you have such an accurate technique to direct the ball through the eye of a needle. For Chelsea’s third, Palmer’s assist was just as special as his two finishes, as he picked up the ball in his own half before driving forward to thread Joao Pedro through with a perfectly weighted pass. It speaks to his intelligence to drop in and find the space, but the dovetailed runs of Palmer and Gusto were particularly impressive, as one comes short and the other goes forward. With PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia not tracking back, left-back Nuno Mendes is forced to follow Gusto’s run, which provides Palmer with the space to run at the back line. Note Mendes’ fury towards his team-mate below, as he knows that danger is imminent. Such an impressive individual performance was reminiscent of Chelsea’s recent Europa Conference League final victory against Real Betis, where Palmer took matters into his own hands to assist two goals in the second half and scoop another player of the match award. That now makes it seven goal contributions in the six finals that he has played, but his performance was so much more than the two goals and one assist on Sunday. As shown in The Athletic’s player dashboard, no player made more progressive carries on the day, and no one was more involved in attacking sequences than Palmer. He was truly worthy of his player of the match award. Did he lap up the attention in the aftermath? Briefly, as he was obliged to accept his match and tournament awards, but it was clear from Palmer’s unassuming nature that he was more comfortable having a quick kickabout on a confetti-strewn pitch with some of the squad’s young family members. Whether it is Nuno Mendes or a team-mate’s son, it does not matter. It is all fun and games when Palmer has a ball at his feet. It is great to see Palmer hit the headlines for his positive performances after recently admitting he has struggled on and off the pitch in recent months. Having gone 18 games without scoring a goal for club or country this year, the scrutiny on the 23-year-old was building, largely as a consequence of the unsustainable attacking output he was posting since he arrived at Stamford Bridge. A glance at the underlying numbers would have told you that the process had never left him in those barren moments. In the Premier League, no one was more involved in Chelsea’s attacking sequences — via shots, chances created, or a pass within a shot-ending sequence — than Palmer across the whole of 2024-25. Despite the confusion over his attacking form, his 0.38 non-penalty expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes were identical across his two seasons in west London. Sometimes the output does not match the underlying process, but perspective is crucial, as he outlined himself in an interview with Sky Sports in May. What You Should Read Next How Chelsea can fix Cole Palmer: Patience, empathy and a clear set of aims The club's former assistant manager Eddie Newton and sports psychologist Dan Abrahams assess how Palmer can be helped back to his best “At the start of the season, I think I scored 14 in my first (21 games),” Palmer said. “And then I just had a patch where I didn’t score. But I feel I could have scored just as many goals (as) last season, this season, but I was just missing some chances and stuff. I knew it was going to come, it’s just part and parcel of it. I’m not too bothered.” Speaking of perspective, if you did want to cite the headline numbers, only Erling Haaland (57) and Mohamed Salah (75) have logged more combined goals and assists (56) in the Premier League since the start of the 2023-24 season. Sunday’s performance against PSG was a microcosm of the double attacking threat that he holds. In the age of social media and viral content, having such a signature celebration certainly helps to boost your status, but “brand Palmer” looks to have reached new heights in the past week. With an ever-growing profile in the United States, Palmer might have given local fans a taste of what is to come next summer when he, undoubtedly, returns in an England shirt for the 2026 World Cup. He is yet to be the talisman for his country in the same way he is for his club, but manager Thomas Tuchel would be foolish not to find a place for the 23-year-old in the starting XI alongside Jude Bellingham, as England’s chief artists. If Palmer carries this summer’s form into the new Premier League season, he might need more than a hood to hide him from adoring fans when he next returns to the United States.

Trump’s trophy celebration and everything else you missed from the (weird) Club World Cup final https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6491734/2025/07/14/trump-club-world-cup-final-palmer-missed/ The FIFA Club World Cup final was unlike any football showpiece event we have seen before. The Americanisation and politicisation of the event at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was incessant, overwhelming and completely in keeping with the last few weeks. Then the utterly unassuming Cole Palmer just ignored it all and stole the show anyway. Here are our weirdest moments from a surreal night… What You Should Read Next Chelsea 3 PSG 0: Palmer’s brilliance, President Trump, $100m prize money – and Luis Enrique strikes Joao Pedro Chelsea caused an upset in the Club World Cup final, dispatching PSG at the MetLife Stadium - here we break down the action. It was long A pre-match ceremony, a half-time show and an inexorably long wait for the post-match trophy presentation prolonged the night by what felt like several hours. Here is a timeline of events… 8.08pm BST; 3.08pm ET: The match kicks off nine minutes late. 8.59pm: Half-time. 9.23pm: Second half begins. 10.14pm: Full time. 10.43pm: The trophy presentation begins. 10.58pm: Chelsea lift the trophy. (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images) Trump was booed The boos had been noticeable when he first appeared on the big screen before kick-off — and for the national anthem — but when President Donald Trump took to the pitch for the trophy presentation, this happened… It was indicative of a number of fairly absurd cameos from the president, who had earlier appeared on DAZN in a manner that resembled him being held hostage and being told to say he was having a great time. During that interview, which was screened after the trophy presentation, Trump called football a “growing sport”, like it’s a new game called padel or something, and was then asked if America could start dominating the football/soccer world (what this question was based on is unclear). “We’re doing very well on the other stage, the political stage, the financial stage,” Trump replied, before going on to talk about Qatar, NATO, and the U.S. being the “hottest country in the world”, which was not a reference to temperature. That’s a no, then. He was then asked about sport being a unifying, powerful tool. President Trump said: “It’s about unity, about everybody getting together, a lot of love between countries. “I guess it’s the most international sport, it really can bring the world together.” A novel idea. Trump wanted to lift the trophy At least it appeared that way when he didn’t leave the stage as Chelsea captain Reece James waited patiently to hoist the trophy aloft. As Trump’s new best mate, Gianni Infantino, headed off the stage after the pair had delivered the trophy into James’ hands, Trump decided to stay, standing next to goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. Cue confusion. Palmer put his arm out in a “WTF” manner, James seemed to ask if he was going to leave, and Marc Cucurella stared inquisitively and started cackling when James spoke to him, before the captain went for it and Infantino returned to usher Trump through the crowd of Chelsea players and off the back of the stage. Trump then proceeded to wave to the crowd as he made his way off the field, while being booed and jeered some more. It was all completely bonkers and akin to… nope, there is literally absolutely nothing this has been akin to in the history of football or the world. It’s a totally unprecedented occurrence. Palmer swore Palmer was the hero of this Trumped-up (double meaning) occasion in so many ways. As everyone around him lost their heads and just said how amazing and wonderful and glorious everything was, Palmer was beautifully himself. It’s hard to imagine someone getting less caught up in the moment than Palmer, who was asked about his incredible record in finals after the game (he has scored in the 2024 European Championship final for England against Spain, turned the Conference League final on its head in May, and scored two and set one up here), to which he merely replied: “I like finals.” (Alex Grimm/Getty Images) He then continued saying exactly what came into his head by adding: “Everyone’s talked a lot of s*** about us all season, but we’re going in the right direction.” Everybody should be a little bit more Cole Palmer than they were yesterday. Robbie Williams cradled a woman’s head Williams was wearing the most outlandishly daft gold-tinted Adidas tracksuit, singing the official anthem for the tournament called Desire, which contains some of the most cringeworthy and completely meaningless lyrics ever committed to music. “You’ve got the ball and you’re driven by desire. Aim high, fly by, destiny’s in front of you. “It’s a beautiful game and the dream is coming true (viva soccer… FIFA!!!).” Those lyrics are real, by the way. And the anthem clearly caught the imagination of the crowd, who loved singing along with him. Halfway through the song, Williams was joined on stage by Italian singer Laura Pausini, whom he proceeded to cradle in his arms after stroking her hair. Luis Enrique clashed with Joao Pedro PSG went down fighting at the final whistle and head coach Luis Enrique was at the centre of it, appearing to push or slap Chelsea forward Joao Pedro in a scuffle that also involved his goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, full-back Achraf Hakimi and Chelsea’s Andrey Santos. Luis Enrique and his players have deservedly had so many plaudits during a glorious season that included winning the Champions League at the end of May, but they were outplayed by Chelsea in the final and lost their composure and dignity in the closing stages, with midfielder Joao Neves sent off for pulling Cucurella’s hair before Luis Enrique took matters into his hands after the final whistle. The coach and his goalkeeper were led away by PSG staff members before tensions could escalate further. “At the end of the game, there is a situation that I believe is totally avoidable by everyone,” Luis Enrique said afterwards. “My goal and intention, as always, is to try to separate the players so that there are no more problems. Avoidable situation. “There is a lot of tension, a lot, a lot of pressure and from there, there is a series of pushes by many people that we should all avoid and that should not happen again. But I repeat my intention as always, to avoid any situation that goes further.” Half-time lasted 24 minutes Another thing to get used to for next summer is a half-time show. They’re having one at the World Cup and they had one here, which was fairly normal, apart from the fact it was held in the top tier of the stadium, not on the pitch, meaning those in the stadium could only see tiny figures moving around unless they watched the big screen. Chris Martin curated the show, which featured J Balvin, Tems, Doja Cat, Emmanuel Kelly and then Coldplay playing A Sky Full of Stars, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact their guitars weren’t even plugged in. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) If you missed all the pre-match and half-time music, the fact Coldplay and Robbie Williams were heavily involved tells you absolutely everything you need to know. (Additional contributor: Oliver Kay)

How Chelsea won the Club World Cup: Big bonuses, training-ground deals and ‘scary’ Palmer https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6490171/2025/07/13/Chelsea-club-world-cup-win-story/ When Chelsea weighed up the future of Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, one factor that came into play was the team’s involvement in the Club World Cup a year later. Sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, along with Behdad Eghbali, the managing partner of majority owner Clearlake Capital, took the view the 2024-25 campaign and the 2025-26 season should be treated as a double season. This presented a problem if they took a wait-and-see approach with head coach Pochettino, whose contract at Chelsea was a two-year deal ending in 2025. Chelsea did not want the disruption of introducing a new coach just before the Club World Cup, and the window to replace a coach between the Club World Cup and the 2025-26 season would be too tight, which meant they needed to stick or twist with Pochettino. The Argentinian, who is now USMNT head coach, departed and Enzo Maresca arrived. The decision divided Chelsea fans but Maresca ends his first season having secured Champions League football, a Europa Conference league trophy and now — thanks in no small part to Cole Palmer — the title of Club World Cup champions. To defeat Paris Saint-Germain’s previously irrepressible team represents a spectacular achievement for a Chelsea side which had been largely unfancied before the start of the tournament. It aids the sense of a squad building momentum and developing a winning culture no matter what scepticism may exist about the competition. Here, The Athletic tells the story of how they did it. The Club World Cup has always been taken seriously in the Chelsea boardroom, even before FIFA finally secured venues, a broadcaster and sponsors during a frazzling lead-up to the inaugural expanded version of the competition. When deciding upon Pochettino’s fate, Chelsea did not know the precise riches on offer but FIFA had made clear there would be the potential of Champions League-level money. In the end, Chelsea leave the United States $114 million (£84.5m) better off as the winners in the tournament. That figure will be subject to taxes and must be set against Chelsea not being able to do their own money-spinning pre-season tour, but it remains an essential windfall in the context of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules. Spending on players such as Joao Pedro made the CWC windfall crucial for Chelsea (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images) Chelsea were recently punished by UEFA with a $36m fine for breaching financial rules, while they have also already spent over £100m this summer on Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap. More arrivals are expected, with Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho a long-term consideration. Being crowned champions of the world will thrill the club’s accountants as well as their fans, given the increased commercial opportunities that status should offer, while for Palmer it could also be a transformational moment. The England forward was one of the poster boys for this tournament, featuring heavily in promotional material and advertising throughout. It was his face which loomed large in a billboard over Times Square in the week of the final — along with the tagline ‘Scary Good’ — and when a Chelsea player was needed to accompany PSG’s Ousmane Dembele up the Rockefeller Centre on Friday to take publicity shots on a ‘girder’ overlooking the city (both men were safely tethered to their seats), there was no doubt who would be picked. Cole Palmer joins Ousmane Dembele at ‘The Top Of The Rock’ (Ira L. Black – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) Palmer certainly lived up to the hype in the final, his two identical first-half finishes — and an assist for Joao Pedro — rendering what should have been an onerous task against PSG into a procession at MetLife Stadium. Speaking before the final, Tosin Adarabioyo — who became a virtually inseparable social double act with Palmer during this tournament — told reporters: “His life has changed in the past two years. As banter sometimes, I call him like a little superstar. But he handles it very well. He knows he’s focused his career on football.” Palmer’s post-match interviews may still cause some anxiety — DAZN had to apologise after Palmer said “Everyone’s talked a lot of s*** about us all season” to its reporter Kelly Somers — but after his match-winning turn in the final, his star power will only grow from here. The final may ultimately have been routine, but Chelsea’s journey there was anything but. Due to the convoluted criteria for qualifying, it started over four years ago in May 2021, when Thomas Tuchel’s side defeated Manchester City to lift the Champions League. The club was then owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and is now scarcely recognisable from that night. Since then, Chelsea have been placed under sanctions owing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich has been booted out of English football, the club has been taken over by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly’s consortium and Maresca is Chelsea’s fourth head coach in a dramatic four-year period. When Chelsea played Fluminense in the semi-final last week, Thiago Silva was the one player on the field who was in the starting XI when Chelsea beat City in 2021 — and he was representing the Brazilian side, having left last summer. Some 48 players have signed and even more have left since the new owners arrived in 2022. On the ground in the U.S., Chelsea have faced obstacles, including a daft red card for striker Nicolas Jackson in the group stages and a five-hour last 16 game against Benfica. That included an almost two-hour delay for severe weather during which some players were calling family members back home while others stretched to stay warm. Maresca, meanwhile, has had plenty of complaints. He described the circumstances in Charlotte against Benfica as a “joke” but has also sounded off about his players’ workload. Chelsea’s competitive season began on August 18 last year, which makes this a 329-day campaign. He also had concerns about the temperatures his players endured in training during a Philadelphia heatwave, saying conditions made it “almost impossible to train.” While Chelsea could not control the weather, they found other ways to try to seize a competitive advantage. They offered players bonuses on a par with those they might receive in the Premier League or Champions League. The ownership moved fast to secure Delap’s signature from Ipswich Town before the tournament and also attempted to sign Gittens from Borussia Dortmund early, but that deal did not make the deadline to be registered for the group stages. What You Should Read Next Inside Jamie Gittens’ transfer to Chelsea: Talks last summer, Bayern interest, friends reunited The 20-year-old is returning to England - this is why he chose Chelsea, where he fits into their plans and how the deal was done Chelsea were keen to get Liam Delap signed before the tournament (Emilee Chinn – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) When the transfer window reopened for the mid-tournament registration window, Joao Pedro was signed from Brighton and his two goals against Fluminense in the semi-final secured Chelsea a minimum of $30m for advancing to the final. The Brazilian ticked the box of the versatile attacker Chelsea wanted and he arrived in prime condition, having worked with a trainer while on vacation in Brazil. While steps were taken to bolster the squad, the club were not prepared to hinder the overall long-term plan solely for the interests of this tournament, which is why Noni Madueke was allowed to leave between the semi-finals and final to have a medical with Arsenal. Similarly, goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic could have gone to the U.S. but he wanted assurances about being first choice which Chelsea could not give. The competition was seen as a chance for all the goalkeepers to show what they could do, so a gentlemen’s agreement was put in place for him to stay behind and resolve his future. He subsequently joined Bournemouth for £25m. Chelsea also splashed the cash to secure their preferred training facility. What You Should Read Next Rotation: The key word of Chelsea’s long summer at the Club World Cup Why Enzo Maresca's use of his squad, and the positional flexibility they show ,has been key to his side reaching Sunday's final FIFA had created a brochure of training bases and hotels and told clubs it would cover up to $15,000 per day for training sites, but clubs could go it alone if they wished, though this led to complication with the Philadelphia Union. The MLS club’s facilities were listed in the FIFA brochure. While Chelsea had two games in Philadelphia, so too did Flamengo, which risked the Brazilian team securing the base in accordance with FIFA’s lottery system for allocating bases. Chelsea contacted the MLS franchise directly and made an agreement independent of FIFA, with the Union requesting to be removed from its brochure. Flamengo instead trained at Stockton University in New Jersey, around 50 miles from Lincoln Financial Field, while Chelsea trained much closer to the stadium and a half-hour drive to their Four Seasons Hotel in central Philadelphia, a familiar haunt for the club from previous pre-season tours. Chelsea then lined up Barry University in Miami to prepare for their round-of-16 game. They had originally hoped to top their group, which would have seen them play at Hard Rock Stadium, but they ended up in Charlotte after finishing the group phase as runners-up to Flamengo. However, the Barry University facilities were among the most in-demand on the east coast — they were Real Madrid’s first choice, only for the Spanish club to defer to Boca Juniors under FIFA’s allocation system during the group stages. So Chelsea used Barry as a base until the semi-final preparations, when they moved to New York and utilised both New York City FC and New York Red Bulls facilities. FIFA’s budget also allowed clubs a daily contribution during the tournament of $38,500, to cover the cost of an average travelling party for their stays in five-star resorts, food, travel and associated costs. Chelsea ended up committing almost double FIFA’s allowance during the tournament across all their costs in order to give their players the best possible preparation and prospects for success in the tournament. What You Should Read Next How Joao Pedro made a ‘dream’ start at Chelsea – and not just with his goals The club's new signing scored twice against Fluminense but there was much more to admire about his game on Tuesday Chelsea arrived at the tournament in good spirits. The Premier League ended in positive fashion on May 25 as they sealed a Champions League place before the Conference League victory over Real Betis added some silverware to the season. Some players had a brief break and others headed away on international duty. Upon reconvening for four days of training at their Cobham training base in Surrey, Maresca told his players: “Guys, it’s not pre-season. It’s a tournament — a big, big tournament.” Maresca took only a couple of days off, but said he could not be “100 per cent off” as he needed to get up to speed with teams he was less familiar with. On June 13, three days before their opening group stage game against LAFC, Chelsea flew to Philadelphia with 24 players, while South Americans Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos and Aaron Anselmino met them stateside. Maresca took only a few days off before the Club World Cup (JUAN MABROMATA/AFP via Getty Images) Chelsea’s approach to the tournament was emphasised by most of their players who had been loaned to other clubs having agreements in place which meant they could return to the club in time to feature in the Club World Cup. However, Chelsea saw the tournament as a continuation of the 2024-25 season and wanted to keep the group who had achieved their Premier League and Conference League targets by and large the same. Santos, who shone at Strasbourg for the previous 18 months, was the exception because he has been earmarked to be part of the 2025-26 plans. The remaining loanees were allowed to go on holiday and returned to pre-season training at Cobham last week. Chelsea saw little benefit in having them out in U.S., making the squad size too large and therefore threatening to undermine the competitive nature of the sessions. Maresca sought to keep focus high but recognised his players needed adjustments. Ahead of the second group-stage game against Flamengo, he said: “It’s impossible for them as human beings to be fit or to be 100 per cent for 11 months. So this morning, we did the session and the main focus after the warm-up was just the tactical aspect.” Although their training base in Philadelphia enjoyed a breeze from the adjacent Delaware River, they deployed huge industrial fans by the side of the pitch and cooling sprays to mitigate the scalding temperatures. Maresca also significantly shortened his sessions. Chelsea collapsed against Flamengo and several calls went wrong for Maresca, who started Delap ahead of Jackson. He also tweaked his system, opting to start Reece James in midfield, pushing his full-backs Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella high instead of inverting them, and opting for Palmer, by then 26 games without a goal, to the right wing rather than as a No 10. What You Should Read Next Marc Cucurella interview: Chelsea adaptation, a year of non-stop football and Club World Cup reflections The defender discusses the pros and cons of this summer's tournament and looks back at his difficult early months at Stamford Bridge Jackson emerged as a substitute but was sent off, while the team performed poorly even with 11 men. Jackson apologised in the dressing room, and to the fans on Instagram, and a photograph of a subdued birthday celebration later circulated on X. Cucurella said: “He’s a young player with a lot of quality but maybe needs to improve a little bit in these things. He has to learn. After the manager spoke, he said sorry, he didn’t do it on purpose.” Maresca said he was trying “something different” in his selection, with a view to next season, which highlighted how this tournament acted as a hybrid between pre-season experimentation and a competitive priority. This was highlighted, too, by Maresca using every outfield player at some point during the Club World Cup. By finishing second in the group stage, Chelsea actually gained an advantage as it placed them in the side of the draw that avoided PSG, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. When Inter Milan and Manchester City unexpectedly exited in the round of 16, a clear path towards the final opened up. Yet Chelsea still needed to beat a Benfica side who had topped a group which included Bayern, while two Brazilian opponents awaited in the quarter-final and semi-final. Chelsea have a far bigger budget but the Brazilian fans dominated the stadiums. Before the semi-final against Fluminense, Chelsea launched an initiative, asking their own players to promote tickets on Instagram to try and bring more blue into the MetLife stadium. Over 65,000 attended the match against Palmeiras in Philadelphia and over 70,000 turned out at MetLife, as tickets dropped to $11 for the quarter-final and $13 for the semi-final. There was a more significant contingent of Chelsea fans for the final against PSG, helped by a large swathe of Ecuadorian supporters backing Moises Caicedo, and their dismantling of the team who had been billed as the world’s best will probably have earned them many more. The scenes at full time, when PSG and Chelsea players had to be separated by staff as tensions boiled over, gave an indication as to how much this occasion meant and how the French champions had been rattled by Maresca’s approach. Chelsea and PSG players confront each other (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images) Now, Chelsea players will finally have a three-week holiday, reporting back for training on August 4. Chelsea have not requested that the Premier League push back their fixtures to give the team a greater rest. Chelsea’s view is that their players will be rested, recuperated and ready to go all over again. They will play warm-up games for the new season against Bayer Leverkusen on August 8 and Milan on August 10. They will begin their Premier League season 35 days on from the final of the Club World Cup. And they will do so as champions of the world. Additional reporting: Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey

Liverpool make Alexander Isak approach to Newcastle https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6495057/2025/07/15/alexander-isak-liverpool-transfer-newcastle/ By David Ornstein July 15, 2025 Liverpool have made an approach to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United. The Merseyside club say no formal offer has been submitted as they are well aware Newcastle’s stance has always been that Isak is not for sale. However, they have communicated their interest to do a deal in the region of £120million. Liverpool’s admiration for the 25-year-old is long-standing, while Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike has also been among those on their radar. There has been no official contact from Liverpool to Eintracht. Newcastle are working to recruit Ekitike but have yet to reach an agreement with Eintracht or the 23-year-old France youth international. Sensitivities around Liverpool remain understandably high following the tragic death of Diogo Jota earlier this month, but there is an awareness they need to make further additions this summer. The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Liverpool’s focus when it comes to incomings is on finding a top No 9 as they seek to strengthen their forward line. What You Should Read Next Is Alexander Isak the striker who troubles Virgil van Dijk more than any other? Liverpool's captain is usually imperious but history shows the Newcastle forward has the capacity to trouble him like few others Liverpool have already broken their transfer record this summer with the addition of attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial fee of £100m with a potential £16m due in add-ons. Earlier on Tuesday, Liverpool rejected a €67.5m bid from Bayern Munich for winger Luis Diaz, with the Colombian making clear he wants to leave the Premier League side. Isak has scored 62 goals in 109 appearances for Newcastle since joining from Real Sociedad in a deal worth in the region of £60m. Last season was his most prolific in England as he registered 27 goals in 42 games as Newcastle qualified for the Champions League with a fifth-place Premier League finish. He has three years remaining on his contract. Liverpool are without an established first choice up front. Federico Chiesa is considered an option there, while Napoli and Al Hilal have been monitoring Darwin Nunez. It is expected that a move for him will progress again soon. ‘Liverpool mean business’ Analysis by Liverpool correspondent Gregg Evans The interest in Isak highlights the determination at Liverpool to build on last season’s title success and dominate for years to come. Discussions around strengthening the centre-forward position have taken place for some time and were likely to advance this summer, even before the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. Liverpool have always been aware of the difficulty of doing a deal to take Isak out of Newcastle United, and understand that they would have to fix up Darwin Nunez with a move elsewhere to cover some of the cost. Yet the desire to bring in a player of his quality, even after the club-record signing of No. 10 Florian Wirtz, shows they mean business and are serious about staying out in front. What You Should Read Next Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak and the ‘explosion’ that set him on course for the top The story of Alexander Isak's rise from the suburbs of Stockholm to a dalliance with Real Madrid and ultimately to Newcastle... They have remained patient in their pursuit of a new striker by allowing other opportunities to pass and insist that a new arrival would only be signed off if it represented a significant improvement to the current squad. Isak with his proven Premier League record and tactical flexibility fits perfectly and would give an already-elite forward line another boost. Adding him to a forward line with Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, and Cody Gakpo would create further competition and bring even more goals and creativity to the side. ‘A one-of-a-kind centre-forward’ Analysis by data writer Thom Harris Isak is a one-of-a-kind centre-forward, standing tall at 6ft 4in (193cm), yet incredibly technically gifted and light on his feet when he moves forward with the ball. He likes to drift across the attacking third to get on the ball, where he can slalom away from defenders with a unique blend of agility and power. His assist against Everton back in April 2023, leaving five defenders in his wake after a twisting run down the left flank, remains one of the greatest examples of his elusive dribbling ability. On top of that, Isak is clinical in front of goal, a clean striker of the ball on both sides. He’s scored 21 and 23 league goals across his last two seasons with Newcastle, and we’ve seen a wide range of sweeping finishes into the corners, instinctive close-range finishes and thumping efforts from the edge of the box. His emphatic strike against Liverpool last December was named the most powerfully struck goal in the Premier League last season. He’s also lethal on the counter-attack — only Mohamed Salah has generated more expected goals (xG) from fast breaks since the start of last season — an efficient decision-maker who is difficult to stop with momentum on his side. That bodes well for Arne Slot’s side, the highest scorers from such situations last season. After the signing of Florian Wirtz, this would be another resounding statement of intent from Liverpool, looking to assemble a front-line bursting with creativity, technical ability and ruthlessness at speed. ‘Potential loss of Isak would be seismic’ Analysis by Newcastle correspondent Chris Waugh Just as an incoming deal for Ekitike is not yet close to being concluded, conclusions should not yet be raced to regarding Isak. This is a mammoth prospective offer but, if the bullish stance Newcastle have adopted publicly and privately all year is to be believed, then it is still significantly short of what they would want. Newcastle have long insisted Isak is not for sale at any price. But that has always felt reliant on Isak’s own stance. The club have never expected him to push to leave but, should he be attracted by the prospect of moving to Anfield, perhaps that changes now an approach has been made. The potential loss of Isak would be seismic and cannot really be understated. He has scored 54 goals in 86 Premier League games, including 23 last season, and has proven himself to be consistently world class. What You Should Read Next Hugo Ekitike to Newcastle – the key questions answered Can they afford him? What would the deal mean for Isak? Our reporters dissect the news Newcastle are in talks to sign the French forward Ekitike is a fine prospect and has decent pedigree, but he does not have Isak’s proven track record in the Premier League. Signing the Frenchman would definitely soften the blow of losing Isak, should the Sweden international depart, but that eventuality will still dent Newcastle, given they have been adamant that they would not lose their star striker. The situation has not escalated as quickly as that yet but, whether incoming or outgoing wise, Newcastle’s transfer business is attracting worldwide attention right now.

insane career collapse from being valued at 90m euros at age 25 to less than 10m at age 29

maybe we have found where it went! Trump seen pocketing FIFA medal as he walks on stage to hand Chelsea replica club championship trophy https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-winners-medal-fifa-club-world-cup-b2789441.html U.S. President Donald Trump was seen sneakily pocketing a FIFA Club World Cup winners medal onstage moments before he handed Chelsea a replica trophy. The president was given the medal to look at by Gianni Infantino while handing others out to the winning squad at New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium Sunday. Though videos showed Trump later tucked the medal into his suit blazer when the FIFA CEO seemingly reached for it back. Infantino appeared to shrug off the incident, flashing the thumbs up and allowing Trump to keep the medal. Eagle-eyed social media users were quick to react to the clip, which went viral over the weekend and following the game, with one labeling the brazen act “The Art of the Steal.” “He didn’t play a minute,” complained another. snip video at the top link

still getting the Google fireworks, lolol

Alan Shearer reacts Alan Shearer on Cole Palmer’s performance against PSG: 🗣 "It's outstanding. And to do it on that stage, to do it against those players who have been so magnificent. PSG basically dominated europe for the year, and we've spoken so much about their midfield and everything else, and how brilliant some of their players have been, and rightly so. “But he was the pick of the bunch by an absolute mile last night, Cole Palmer. I thought he was absolutely outstanding." Shearer: "What PSG did to Real Madrid, Chelsea did exactly the same to them. They absolutely battered them. I thought they were magnificent. "What a job he's done, by the way, Maresca. Incredible job he's done. I mean, the season they've had, winning the Conference League, qualifying for the Champions League, winning this [Club World Cup]. “I mean, and they've made some really, really good signings already. I don't suspect they're finished. "I think it would take a very very brave person to say that Chelsea would not be involved in the title race next year because of what they've achieved this season, what they've just achieved, who they've signed and who they will sign. So, I think you have to say that they'll be involved in the title race."