Chelsea were crowned Club World Cup champions on Sunday after a dominant 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in a final that blended footballing excellence with political theatre at MetLife Stadium in New York.
Cole Palmer struck twice and set up another in a scintillating first half that left PSG reeling. Yet it was the post-match scenes that ensured the night would live long in the memory.
As Chelsea captain Reece James stepped up to the podium to collect the trophy, US President Donald Trump joined the squad on stage alongside Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Trump, who had been met with a mixture of cheers and boos from the 81,000-strong crowd, handed over the trophy before awkwardly lingering next to James as the celebrations kicked off.
“They told me he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage,” said James. “I thought he was going to leave, but he wanted to stay.”
Palmer, who was named the tournament’s best player and awarded the Golden Ball, admitted he had not expected Trump to remain on the podium.
“I knew he was going to be here, but not that he’d be standing next to us when we lifted it,” said the midfielder. “I was a bit confused, to be honest.”
Chelsea's triumph marked the culmination of Fifa's newly expanded 32-team Club World Cup. In addition to the silverware, the Blues pocketed more than £90 million in prize money – a significant boost for the London club's coffers.
“This is a proud moment for the club,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca. “The lads were immense tonight, especially in the first half. Palmer was unbelievable.”
Trump, interviewed at half time by DAZN, called the event “tremendous” and praised the “energy” of the crowd. He was also asked if he could see a day when the USA, which will co-host the men’s World Cup along with Canada and Mexico next summer, could dominate in football, and he replied: “I can tell you we’re doing very well on the other stage, on the political stage, on the final stage.
“We were doing very badly as a country. We had an incompetent administration and now we have a hot country. It’s really hot and I think the soccer is going to be very hot here too.”
He even joked that he could sign an executive order to rename the sport from “soccer” to “football”.
“I think we could do that,” he said with a smile.
But the night wasn’t without its flashpoints. Tempers boiled over in the closing stages and spilled into post-match tensions between players and coaching staff. A scuffle erupted after full-time involving PSG coach Luis Enrique and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who appeared to shove Chelsea forward Joao Pedro following a heated exchange.
“There is a lot of tension, a lot of pressure,” said Enrique. “I tried to separate the players and avoid something worse.”
Joao Pedro, who was pushed to the ground during the altercation, said he had stepped in to defend teammate Andrey Santos. “They surrounded him, and like a good Brazilian, I went to protect a friend. They just don’t know how to lose.”
Maresca said he wasn't aware of how the fracas started.
“I saw that something was going on, but I don’t know what happened,” he said.
The match itself was largely one-sided. Palmer opened the scoring early before doubling Chelsea’s lead with a smart finish. His assist for Joao Pedro capped off a first half that left PSG stunned and eventually saw Joao Neves sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella to the ground by his hair.
Despite a flurry of yellow cards and late PSG frustration, the result never looked in doubt. For Chelsea, it was a statement performance – and one that ended with their name on the trophy and the president of the United States inadvertently part of the photo.
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Wallabies
Updated team: 15-Israel Folau, 14-Dane Haylett-Petty, 13-Reece Hodge, 12-Matt Toomua, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Kurtley Beale, 9-Will Genia, 8-Pete Samu, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Lukhan Tui, 5-Adam Coleman, 4-Rory Arnold, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1-Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16-Folau Faingaa, 17-Tom Robertson, 18-Taniela Tupou, 19-Izack Rodda, 20-Ned Hanigan, 21-Joe Powell, 22-Bernard Foley, 23-Jack Maddocks.
