‘I’m Stupid’—Luis Enrique Opens Up on Joao Pedro Clash, Chelsea Stars Respond | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has accused Chelsea’s João Pedro of exaggerating the clash between the pair after Sunday’s Club World Cup final.

Chelsea roared to a stunning 3–0 victory over the reigning European champions, with Cole Palmer scoring twice and setting up a third for Pedro all inside a dominant first half, to become the first winners of the new-look Club World Cup.

Tensions began boiling over late in the game as João Neves was shown a straight red card for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair, and things escalated further after the final whistle with an on-field brawl that included players and staff from both clubs. Enrique was among those involved and appeared to strike Pedro in the face, sending the Chelsea forward tumbling to the ground.

“I’m stupid,” Enrique was caught telling his staff on camera (via SPORT). “[Pedro]’s standing there, he pushes me, I touch him and he throws himself.”

In his post-match press conference, Enrique insisted he was simply trying to play peacemaker.

“What happened at the end of the match was a situation that everyone could have avoided,” Enrique explained. “I tried to separate the players; there was tension. We should have all prevented the situation from escalating. I have no problem speaking up.

“After the match, there was a lot of tension. Everyone pushed and shoved players, a result of the tension. I saw [Enzo] Maresca push players, and people pushed him. These are situations we should all avoid. What I did was separate the players.”

PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi added: “We have the most disciplined and respectful coach in the world. He went to separate the ball and got pushed. You have to have respect for your coaches, too.”

Luis Enrique appeared to catch João Pedro in the face. / IMAGO/ABACAPRESS

On the other side of the incident, goalscorer Pedro argued PSG let their frustrations boil over because they “did not know how to lose”.

“I went to protect Andrey [Santos],” Pedro told Sportv. “I saw the players surrounding him. Like a good Brazilian, I went to protect a friend.

“A lot of people were arriving, and in that mess, I ended up getting shoved. It’s part of it. They didn’t know how to lose, I believe. It’s part of it. Now it’s time to celebrate.”

Santos, the initial spark in the brawl, brushed off the incident when speaking to CazeTV.

“Jota [João Pedro] and the guys arrived. What matters is that we were champions,” he concluded.

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