The origins of Cole Palmer's 'cold' celebration

Since joining Chelsea from Manchester City in the summer of 2023, Cole Palmer has emerged as one of the Premier League's top talents, scoring 28 goals, providing 17 assists, winning four monthly awards and last season's Hublot Young Player of the Season. But as well as his skills with the ball, his "cold" goal celebration has gained him recognition worldwide.

But where did the celebration begin? Was it Palmer who started it?

Palmer first unveiled the "cold" celebration in a 3-2 win against Luton Town on 30 December 2023 after netting his first goal. 

However, it was his second goal of the match that truly captured everyone’s attention and perfectly illustrated why that celebration fits him so well.

Demonstrating his ice-cold composure, Palmer expertly rolled the ball past the Luton 'keeper with his first touch, then skilfully sat down another Luton defender before calmly poking the ball into the empty net. It marked his first brace for Chelsea.

Palmer's second goal v Luton

Palmer later revealed that his celebration was inspired by his former Man City academy and England youth team-mate Morgan Rogers.

The midfielder, now at Aston Villa, first performed the celebration at Middlesbrough after scoring the winner in a Championship match against West Bromwich Albion on 23 December 2023, just a week before Palmer repeated it at Luton.

“My boy Morgz [Rogers] did one for Middlesbrough, so I told him I’d do it too if I scored,” Palmer said.

Rogers: Palmer copied me!

After a match between Villa and Chelsea last season, Rogers joked: “Yeah, he definitely copied me! It’s my celebration. Check the timeline, I did it first.”

But more recently Rogers has conceded that ownership of the celebration probably now belongs to Palmer.

“I'll let him have it,” he told TNT Sports after Villa's recent UEFA Champions League win over Bayern Munich. “He's scored 40 goals or something stupid. Can't really argue with that, can I?”

The celebration has gone beyond the two former Man City academy players and has been seen across the world, with athletes from different sports performing the same move when celebrating success.

Estevao Willian, who will join Chelsea next season from Brazilian side Palmeiras having signed for the Blues this summer, has also copied the celebration.

“When I signed for Chelsea, the next day I scored a goal and celebrated like Palmer,” Estevao told The Guardian.

“His celebration was trend, very popular. We talked on social media. I tagged him on Instagram. He called me a star, I said he’s a star too. He said we’re going to do a lot of great things together for Chelsea.”

Did Trae Young do it first?

But it seems that the celebration predated Rogers and Palmer across the Atlantic Ocean. 

In the United States, three-time NBA All-Star Trae Young has been performing a similar celebration for years for the Atlanta Hawks.

"I hear he [Palmer] is a pretty good player," said Young. "I just did it. I kind of ran with it, I didn't get it from nobody."

Like "Cold" Palmer, Young's nickname of "Ice Trae" perhaps inspired his celebration. It was given to him by the rapper Quavo around the time Young was drafted in 2018, highlighting Young's cool demeanour on the court and his ability to perform under pressure, much like Palmer.

Now, it seems the celebration has come full circle, as athletes in the US are now copying Palmer's moves.

New York Yankees baseball player Gleyber Torres brought out the celebration after hitting a home run earlier this month in the playoffs. 

Justin Jefferson, the Minnesota Vikings wide receiver whose "griddy" celebration took the NFL and other sports by storm, combined his viral move with that of Palmer on the same day.

With athletes such as England cricketer Shoaib Bashir and the Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo also performing the move, will Palmer be forced to come up with another celebration to cement his position as an icon when the ball is at his feet and when it is in the back of the net?