Do we like them?

Do we like Cole Palmer?

Our score: 7 out of 10. A clean record on harm and a few real kind acts, but little on the record about causes, so it stops short of the top.

Cole Palmer is a Manchester lad who grew up supporting Manchester United, with his family still in the city. He came through at Manchester City and moved to Chelsea in the summer of 2023, where he has put up big numbers, including four Premier League hat-tricks. In April 2026 he told the Guardian he had no plans to leave, and his Chelsea contract ran to 2033 at that point.

His biggest moment on the global stage came at the 2025 Club World Cup final, where Chelsea beat PSG 3-0. Palmer scored twice, assisted another goal and was handed the best player award. Donald Trump presented that award and then stayed on the podium during the trophy lift. Palmer said he was a bit confused by that, and nothing in the coverage has him endorsing Trump.

Off the pitch, his main stoush was a business one. In August 2025 he applied to trademark his ice-cold goal celebration and the nickname Cold Palmer. The Bordeaux winery Château Palmer opposed the application, saying it could infringe its brand. At the time of that report the UK Intellectual Property Office was yet to rule, and it is a brand squabble, not a scandal.

On the harm check, we went looking for anything he has said or done about LGBTQ+ people, women, people of colour, migrants, public health or the climate. Nothing turned up in the reporting, good or bad, and nothing about the company he keeps raised a flag. That is honestly a clean sheet, but a quiet one, because he says very little about politics or causes.

The good stuff is small but real. On 18 December 2025 he joined Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto on a surprise visit to the children's wards at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, handing out goodie bags and signing shirts. The hospital trust thanked the club for giving up its time. One young patient even shared a hand-drawn picture of Palmer with him.

We found no court outcomes against him and no allegations from established outlets. We also found no dated, reliable page on anything big in the last few weeks, so we're not claiming one. The record is clean, but it is short. A bloke who plays football brilliantly and keeps his nose out of trouble gets a pass here, not a gold star.