President Donald Trump welcomed Lionel Messi and Inter Miami to the White House on Thursday to celebrate the team’s 2025 MLS Cup title but began with a lengthy discourse on the ongoing Iran conflict.
After the Inter Miami squad took the stage, Trump entered the White House’s East Room flanked by Messi and club owner Jorge Mas.
We like champions, we like winners,” Trump said, before speaking for several minutes about the military situation while the Miami group stood behind him on stage.
Eventually, Trump turned to discussing Miami’s visit, revealing that his son Barron had met Messi earlier in the day. Miami won its first MLS Cup by defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps in December.
Trump compared Messi to Brazilian legend Pelé, asking those in attendance which of the all-time greats were better, injecting an anecdote about watching Pelé for the New York Cosmos in the 1970s.
The president highlighted various contributions from Miami’s successful season, including those of Messi, Luis Suarez’s performance during the Club World Cup, young forward Tadeo Allende’s playoff scoring streak, while lauding goalkeeper Oscar Ustari and playmaker Rodrigo de Paul.
Trump started a running gag about how good looking the Miami squad was, making De Paul blush. “Do you have any bad looking players? I like the bad looking players much better,” Trump joked.
Co-owner David Beckham was apparently absent, while Mas presented Trump with one of the club’s iconic pink jerseys, complete with the number 47 to recognize his presidency. Messi then gave him a signed ball while Mas added a limited edition watch to the haul of gifts.
Thursday’s event marks the first time that Messi has visited the White House. The record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was invited to receive the presidential medal of freedom from former President Joe Biden in January 2025, but was unable to attend.
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