Luis Enrique explains angry Joao Pedro clash after Chelsea shock PSG in Club World Cup final

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·14 de julho de 2025

Luis Enrique explains angry Joao Pedro clash after Chelsea shock PSG in Club World Cup final

PSG boss could be in hot water with FIFA after raising hands to the face of Blues forward, who fell to the ground

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Luis Enrique has offered an explanation following his furious clash with Joao Pedro after Paris Saint-Germain’s Club World Cup final defeat by Chelsea.

The reigning Ligue 1 and Champions League holders were stunned by Enzo Maresca’s Conference League winners in New Jersey on Sunday evening, brushed aside 3-0 following a brace from the inspirational Cole Palmer and further effort from new signing Pedro - all three goals coming in the first half.

Tempers flared badly after the final whistle at MetLife Stadium, with Enrique strongly criticised for appearing to shove Pedro in his face and neck as an initial disagreement between Andrey Santos and Nuno Mendes saw the Chelsea forward, PSG boss, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma all get involved.

Pedro fell to the ground as more players from both sides then ran in, with the angry flashpoint eventually defused and Enrique pulled away as Chelsea later lifted the trophy alongside US President Donald Trump.

Enrique could now be in hot water with FIFA after his post-match behaviour on Sunday, but the Spaniard insisted afterwards that he was simply attempting to separate the players in order to try and prevent the situation from escalating any further.

PSG had been reduced to 10 men during the latter stages of a feisty contest after midfielder Joao Neves saw red for pulling the hair of Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella.

"I have no problem expressing my feeling at the end of the game in a high level of pressure," Enrique said. "It's very stressful for all of us. It is going to be impossible to avoid that.

"Everybody was involved. It was not what was best and the end result of the pressure of the match.

"I have seen Maresca. I saw he had pushed others and we had to separate all the players and I do not know where that pressure came from.

"But this is a situation we must all avoid. That goes without saying. My intention is that I wanted to separate the footballers, so the situations didn't become worse."