Joao Pedro has accused Paris Saint-Germain of being sore losers after he clashed with Luis Enrique during Chelsea’s Club World Cup final win on Sunday.
Chelsea stunned PSG in the final at the MetLife Stadium as a first-half double from Cole Palmer, plus an excellent finish from Pedro before the break, sealed a 3-0 victory for Enzo Maresca’s side.
However, tensions boiled over between both teams moments after the final whistle and the main flashpoint occurred when PSG duo Gianluigi Donnarumma and Achraf Hakimi confronted Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos.
Pedro, who joined Chelsea in a £60 million deal from Brighton earlier this month, stepped in front of Donnarumma and Hakimi to protect Santos but Luis Enrique approached the Brazilian forward and pushed him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Luis Enrique was held back by PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe but the Spaniard now faces serious repercussions over his clash with the Chelsea forward.
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When asked about the incident with Luis Enrique, Pedro told Sportv: ‘I went to protect Andrey, I saw their players were crowding Andrey.
‘Like a good Brazilian, I went to protect my 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, but that’s football.’
Speaking to CazeTV about Luis Enrique’s push on Pedro, Santos said: ‘There’s no way of knowing at the time. I don’t bow down to anyone.
‘Jota [Joao Pedro] and the guys arrived. What matters is that we were champions.’
Meanwhile, Luis Enrique claims he was attempting to diffuse the situation and claims Chelsea manager Maresca was also involved in the post-match brawl.
‘What happened at the end of the match was a situation that everyone could have avoided,’ Luis Enrique said.
‘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 Maresca push players, and people pushed him. These are situations we should all avoid. What I did was separate the players.’
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