Chelsea fans believe they have spotted Noni Madueke's missing Club World Cup medal in the White House Oval Office during diplomatic talks between US President Donald Trump and European leaders. The viral social media discovery occurred as Trump hosted Ukraine peace talks on Monday.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) joined French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb around the Resolute Desk. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the meeting.
Football fans spotted the FIFA Club World Cup trophy displayed in the background during the serious diplomatic discussions. Chelsea won the tournament last month by defeating Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final at MetLife Stadium.
Missing medal mystery
Trump had received a winner's medal from FIFA President Gianni Infantino after distributing honours to the Chelsea squad. The US President was seen placing the medal into his suit pocket before leaving the stage.
Fans initially speculated the spare medal belonged to England winger Madueke, who had been part of Chelsea's squad but flew home during the competition to complete a £52 million move to Arsenal. He therefore missed the trophy presentation ceremony.
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella recently fuelled the theory when asked about Madueke's medal. "He [Trump] put it in his pocket," the Spaniard said. "He has it there in the White House, very well placed."
Fan speculation grows
Social media users claimed they could see a gold object next to the trophy in the Oval Office footage. "That's Madueke's medal," one fan wrote after highlighting the item.
"Noni's medal is trapped in the White House," another added. A third commented: "Madueke's world cup medal just casually on display in Trump's office is frying me."
Trump later revealed that Chelsea had received a replica of the trophy, with the real one residing in the Oval Office. Madueke is expected to receive his winner's medal by post.
Ceremony confusion
Trump's involvement in Chelsea's trophy celebration had surprised players and spectators alike. The US President remained on stage throughout the entire trophy lift, despite customary protocol suggesting he should step aside.
Cole Palmer was visibly confused during the ceremony, spotted saying "What's he doing?" to teammates. "I knew he was going to be here but I didn't know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy so I was a bit confused, yeah," Palmer said afterwards.
Cucurella revealed his bewilderment to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero: "We had been told that, as a rule, Donald Trump would come to present us with the trophy and that we couldn't lift it until he left. And of course, we were all there waiting for him to leave, but the guy didn't want to leave, and on top of that, we looked at him and he said, 'Get him up, I'll stay here, and so on.' And I wondered who would say anything to him, you know... I was scared s***less!"
Sources used: "Daily Mail"
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
