Lionel Messi Meets Donald Trump at the White House as Former President Says He May Be ‘Better Than Pelé’

Donald Trump, the former president of the US, hosted Major League Soccer champions Inter Miami at the White House, applauding Lionel Messi and the rest of the team for their phenomenal achievements and increasing impact on football in the United States.
While talking at the event, Trump dwelt on the military situation with Iran for a long time before resuming his talk to the team that was present. The ex-president stated that the US, together with Israel, was moving at a good pace in disarming Iran’s military. He even said the forces of the US were “achieving victory over the enemy much earlier than the schedule” and every hour destroying missiles and drones.
After discussing geopolitical issues, Trump moved on to the main reason for the gathering, honouring Inter Miami’s success. With players and club executives standing behind him on the podium, he greeted Messi with a sentence, he claimed, that no US president had ever said before:
Lionel Messi and Donald Trump meet at the White House as Trump hosts Inter Miami for their MLS championship.

I am thrilled to do something that no American president has ever had the chance to do before: Welcome to the White House, Lionel, Trump declared, apparently drawing a contrast between this moment and the fact that Messi had been absent when President Biden presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2025. He remarked that Messi’s stay at the club globally influences other football teams and that Messi was under tremendous pressure as a global superstar. He drew a parallel between Messi and those star athletes who move to famous teams, accompanied by a lot of noise, but do not achieve championships.
I have seen many players who are great in their sports. So the moment their arrival is announced, there is a buzz. But what happens many times is that they don’t win. This guy won, Trump said, pointing to the Argentine forward

 Luis Suarez, Tadeo Allende and Rodrigo De Paul were also present

.The former commander, in, chief also gave shout-outs to some other Inter Miami players such as Uruguay striker Luis Suarez, youth star Tadeo Allende, and midfielder Rodrigo De Paul. At one point during the event, Trump recalled a time when he saw the Brazilian soccer legend Pelé playing for the New York Cosmos years ago. After that, he looked at Messi and jokingly suggested that the Argentine star may even overshadow the Brazilian legend. He asked the audience to decide who is better.

Inter Miami president Jorge Mas also spoke at the event, thinking about the club’s quick growth since its first season in 2020. Mas, whose ancestors came from Cuba, mentioned the team’s achievement as a great example of the power of effort and faith. He acknowledged Inter Miami for playing a pivotal role in changing the perception of football in the U. S. and demonstrating that Major League Soccer teams are capable of competing with the best teams in the world. Messi ended his speech by saying that he wished the team would come to the White House again to celebrate more championship wins.

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