Chelsea's Club World Cup win was victory for PR, not football

TO be honest, few would have been surprised to learn that the real Fifa Club World Cup trophy — designed by Tiffany & Co — is destined to remain in the White House in perpetuity.

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It's the kind of garish Americana that fits neatly with the current president's brand: shiny, performative, and tailor-made for a press conference. Another glittering bauble to be paraded as proof of greatness regardless of who actually earned it on the pitch.

“I said, ‘When are you going to pick up the trophy?” Trump remarked earlier this week, while showing it off at the White House.

“And (Fifa) said, ‘We're never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We're making a new one.’

“And they actually made a new one,” he added.

“So, that was quite exciting, but it is in the Oval right now.”

So, after all that effort — seven matches, difficult conditions, the fatigue of a draining season — the eventual winners, Chelsea, didn’t even get to take home the real McCoy. Instead, some replica will sit in the trophy cabinet at Cobham.

Moreover, they didn’t even get to enjoy their moment properly after beating PSG 3-0. Trump gatecrashed the celebration, too.