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U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated in New York this Friday that the soccer World Cup has "broken records," becoming the "biggest in history," and suggested that the United States repeat as host for the next one.
"I suggest, because it has been so successful (...) what we should do is choose the U.S. again, and leave Mexico and Canada out. It was nice having them. But we'll choose someone else for the next one," the president said at a reception at Trump Tower.
Trump was accompanied by Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, who showered the politician with praise and insisted that the organization's mission is to bring joy to the world through sports.
"Gianni had another idea, he said we can have China and the U.S. next time, so we can have a nice, short flight between matches. The players would love it," he joked, with the FIFA leader laughing by his side.
According to the Republican, the World Cup has reached 6.5 million attendees so far, a figure that makes it "the most-attended tournament in the history of all sports," and 6 million viewers, which he also described as a milestone.
During the speech, which had a relaxed tone, he congratulated Infantino on the organization of the event and for "unforgettable moments," including the controversy over the red card given to U.S. national team forward Folarin Balogun.
"I was forced to call Gianni and make a recommendation (...). Let that guy finish the game! No, I didn't say that. I said: I would like to lodge a complaint. I didn't know what was going to happen, but it's better how it all turned out, because there is no controversy: they won the game," he recounted.
Trump closed his speech by sending "good luck to Spain and Argentina on Sunday," when the final is scheduled at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford (New Jersey), and, without revealing who he is supporting, concluded: "May the best team win."
[Publicidad]