Night was closing in over New Jersey. The smog had cleared, the storms had passed, the fireworks had stopped crackling and the spotlight had shifted a few meters away from a vast presentation crew headlined by Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino.Only then – at nearly 7pm local time, at long, long last – could Spain captain Rodri thrust the World Cup trophy toward the setting sun. It had been nearly six weeks since Mexico and South Africa lit the fuse on this World Cup. It had been nearly four hours since this final kicked off and more than five hours since the festivities began.In that time, Spain took 120 minutes to beat Argentina but Infantino needed even longer to crowbar in all the manifestations of his twisted dreams.How smug the FIFA president looked as he ignored the boos and stood beside Trump to crown the new world champions. How cringeworthy it was to watch them hand over the trophy together. And how unfortunate that – as gold glitter fell from the sky – Trump and Infantino refused to exit stage left and let the real heroes of this story have their moment.But who expected any different on a day when sports was – time and again – barged into the shade by politics and music and the circus of showbusiness?Only FIFA and its Teflon president know why Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and Co needed to share soccer’s greatest stage with Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira, Coldplay, the Muppets and a clown. Spain celebrate their World Cup triumph while President Donald Trump stands nearby The FIFA president and the US president handed over the World Cup trophy together Madonna, flanked by Ronaldinho (L) and Ronaldo (R), performed during the halftime show Shakira sung Dai Dai with Burna Boy during halftime of Spain’s win over ArgentinaBut whatever the motivation – and some guesses are better than others – this will be remembered as a final but also a first. A first World Cup final to feature a halftime show. A first World Cup final where fans could pay $1million to watch from a pitchside sofa. A first World Cup final when, apparently, soccer wasn’t enough.It was, in many ways, a fitting apex to a tournament when the sport nearly drowned under a tidal wave of greed.For much of this summer, the performances of superstars such as Messi and Jude Bellingham ensured this World Cup has been a triumph in spite of FIFA. There will be some who sat through these 120 minutes and concluded that Spain and Argentina needed an added dose of drama and sparkle.But, unfortunately for Infantino, his halftime show, his closing ceremony and the rest of his add-ons fell flat, too. History suggests that won’t be enough for him to change tack.Not even the haze which has hung over New York in recent days could blur the grimmer aspects of this World Cup. When the child mascots were sponsored by Quaker Oats. When the prize was delivered on to the field in a Louis Vuitton ‘Trophy Trunk.’ When some fans were barred from entering the country and many others were priced out of going to games. When organizers are selling everything from commemorative rings to a patch of MetLife grass for $450.On Sunday, adverts for the halftime show were plastered across the walls of the men’s toilets. Perhaps the urinals will be the next souvenir to hit the market. That might be all an average fan could afford. This was, after all, among the priciest sporting events in history with some tickets – on FIFA’s own resale platform – going for up to $2.3m in recent days.Perhaps those with the deepest pockets want more for their money than 120 minutes of soccer. And at the end of the first half, the players had barely reached the tunnel when Bruce Buffer appeared on the jumbotrons and began a five-minute countdown to ‘what we’ve all been waiting for.’ That scripted line rather summed up FIFA’s warped priorities this summer. Ferran Torres scored the winning goal for Spain as they overcame Argentina in extra time Justin Bieber sang a World Cup-themed version of his song Everything Hallelujah on Sunday Trump and Infantino watched the game together from a luxury suite at MetLife StadiumFor those who missed it, here is a brief run-through of 27 forgettable minutes: Madonna opened the show, ‘driven’ around the bowels of the stadium by Brazilian legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. The 67-year-old made it to the edge of the field but no further before K-Pop band BTS took over. Before long, Ted Lasso was introducing Justin Bieber. His a capella performance was followed by Shakira and Burna Boy’s rendition of ‘Dai Dai.’The final act of the 11-minute show belonged to a local choir, PS22 Chorus, who performed with Coldplay while the Muppets had a cameo, too. Production wise, it wasn’t a patch on the Super Bowl.So what did the crowd make of it? Well, England legend Wayne Rooney – watching from the BBC studio in the stands – called it ‘crap’ and supporters of both Spain and Argentina made their feelings clear, too. As soon as the music stopped, they broke into song and attempted to turn this into a soccer game once more.Perhaps it should come as no surprise that FIFA chose this summer to turn the World Cup final into a spectacle resembling the Super Bowl. Over here, the lines separating sports, music and celebrity culture are more blurred than perhaps anywhere else. But there was still a heavy dose of irony in their decision.Because back in 1994, the last time the USA hosted the World Cup, organizers attempted to put on a halftime show. Whitney Houston was supposed to perform on the field. Alas, FIFA torpedoed that plan and their idea to sell final tickets for $1,000.It turns out US soccer chiefs were on to something. That day at the Rose Bowl, organizers also devised – what they claim was – sports’ first ever hospitality package. It wasn’t much – fans received a parking pass, a program and some hors d’oeuvres. But three decades on, this circus, these $1m sofas, were a garish illustration of what can happen when you open Pandora’s Suite.Trump and Infantino opted for a box rather than a couch and it is fortunate this was the first and only game the US president attended. Because by midmorning, the perimeter of MetLife Stadium had descended into chaos. As the sun burned overhead, lines snaked around parking lots and tempers began to boil over. Influencer IShowSpeed was among those to perform at the closing ceremony on Sunday Tom Cruise delivered a speech before the game that was largely drowned out by supportersAgents from the Department of Homeland Security, state police, and Transportation Security Administration were on hand to help the secret service check everyone and everything coming inside. Among the items that had to be ‘surrendered’ at the gates? Bicycles, balloons and, in a real blow to any influencers posing as soccer fans, selfie sticks.It is a well-polished routine by now – since returning to the Oval Office, the president has barely missed a major sporting event on these shores. But the exhaustive security operation still led to long delays. All to keep one man safe. All for Trump to miss the closing ceremony. How will he ever forgive himself?There was around an hour and a half until kickoff when some of Spain’s squad decided to take in their surroundings. Moments after they wandered off the field, a small army went to work. They covered the pitch with a giant flag depicting many of New York’s most iconic monuments; they erected a small golden stage in the center circle. They were orchestrated by a maniac in fluorescent green who gesticulated with all the aggression of a North Korean army general.How to describe the next 15 minutes? There were plenty of pyrotechnics. There were also performances by the influencer IShowSpeed, who danced and mimed his way around the field, and Post Malone, who closed the show after walking through a corridor of fire. Trump and Infantino greet new World Cup winner and rising superstar Lamine Yamal Infantino and Trump also fawned over Lionel Messi as they handed him a runners-up medalOff went the flag and on came the corner flags to be stuck back into the ground. That was a timely reminder that a soccer match would soon break out. Alas, the end of the closing ceremony did not mean an end to the noise. And so resumed the adverts, the music, the invitations for fans to turn up the volume. No doubt they would have obliged if they had been given some silence to fill.Instead? As kickoff approached, we heard from Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who addressed the crowd in broken Spanish, from Nicole Scherzinger and Robbie Williams, whose performance was interrupted by a four-jet flyover, and from Tom Cruise, whose speech was – mercifully – drowned out by the Argentina supporters.By then, Trump had announced his arrival. A fleet of helicopters including Marine One fluttered over MetLife Stadium and before long, the president was sitting on halfway with only bulletproof grass obstructing his view of this final.After extra time, he was joined on the field by Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum and other dignitaries. Trump handed over winners’ medals to Spain as, a few meters away, tears filled Messi’s eyes. This was not the ending that the Argentina captain wanted. In truth, this is not what anyone envisaged at a World Cup final. Except for Infantino.