Inside Pulisic’s whirlwind trip from Costa Rica to London on £112k private jet to make it back for Chelsea vs Brentford
CHRISTIAN PULISIC is a winger in every sense after a whirlwind 36 hours catapulting him from the World Cup to West London.
The Chelsea star was part of the America men’s team which clinched qualification for Qatar in the early hours of this morning in tropical Costa Rica.
Pulisic was then whisked off after the final whistle on to a private plane and flown home to be ready for training on Friday ahead of Saturday’s London derby at Brentford.
His journey is remarkable even by the standards of jet-setting modern day players who strive to keep club and country happy.
Pulisic, 23, is captain of the US soccer team and a key figure in the squad.
He scored a hat-trick in the first game of this international break – a 5-1 hammering of Panama on Monday.
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From there he played 84 minutes of a 2-0 defeat in Costa Rica which nonetheless saw the Stars And Stripes finish third in their group and qualify automatically for this November’s tournament, along with Canada and Mexico.
The game finished at 3.57AM UK time on Thursday.
Pulisic and other Europe-based players, which includes Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, were allowed 60 min for a shower and to change before a hired limousine – with a police escort – drove them to a nearby airport for a quick boarding on to a luxury private aircraft.
It has high-end facilities for the athletes to stretch out, relax and catch some sleep during the 5,600 mile journey over the USA, Canada and the Atlantic Ocean to the UK.
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A source at the US football federation said: “Let’s just say it’s not exactly coach class.”
Planes for this kind of job can cost up to £10,500 an HOUR to hire.
With an estimated 10 ½ hour flight that comes in at around £112,000 just to get a couple of players back home. The fee is traditionally split on an informal basis between the US governing body and the clubs involved.
Throw in the seven hour time difference and Pulisic will also be battling jet-lag for the next few days but desperate to play in the Premier League.
Even then, Thomas Tuchel might simply decide not to pick him and Pulisic can catch up on sleep while sitting on the bench.