Superstar Lionel Messi and Inter Miami visited the White House on Thursday to commemorate the team winning the 2025 Major League Soccer Cup.
“Today, we’re thrilled to host the 2025 MLS Cup Champions, Inter Miami,” President Donald Trump said in his introduction. “And it’s my distinct privilege to say what no American president has ever had the chance to say before: Welcome to the White House, Lionel Messi!”
Trump added that his son Barron is a big Messi fan and made sure to emphasize that the Argentine star (and the country’s all-time leading goal-scorer) was being welcomed to the White House.
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Messi entered the East Room of the White House alongside Trump and club co-owner Jorge Mas for the event, but did not speak during the ceremony. Co-owner David Beckham did not attend because he is in Europe for wife Victoria’s fashion show, according to CNN.
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Among the players joining Messi at the White House were Luis Suarez, Tadeo Allende and Rodrigo De Paul. De Paul was singled out by Trump for scoring a goal in the MLS Cup.
Inter Miami is in the Washington, D.C. area in advance of playing D.C. United at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday.
“Leo, you came in and you won, and that’s something very hard to do,” Trump continued. “Very, very unusual and frankly, there’s a lot more pressure put on you than anyone would know, because you sort of expected to win, but almost nobody wins.”
Later, Trump talked about his early memories of watching soccer when Brazilian legend Pelé played for the New York Cosmos of the defunct North American Soccer League. He asked the audience in the East Room, which included MLS commissioner Don Garber and former baseball star Alex Rodriguez, who was better between Pelé and Messi.
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“I don’t know, you may be better. Who’s better?” Trump said, turning toward the Inter Miami players before gesturing to Messi. “I think he is.”
Trump was presented with a pink Inter Miami jersey, a pink soccer ball and a limited edition Inter Miami watch with the president’s name etched on the back of it.
Inter Miami defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps in December to win the MLS title. Amid the championship run, Messi was named the league’s MVP for the second consecutive season. He’s the first player in MLS history to win back-to-back MVP awards.
The MLS cup and MVP awards are the latest additions to Messi’s acclaimed career, which includes a FIFA World Cup championship and Olympic gold medal with Argentina, four Champions League titles with FC Barcelona, two Ligue 1 championships with Paris Saint-Germain and a record eight Ballon d’Or awards honoring the best soccer player in the world.
