Messi meets Trump: Inter Miami star visits White House as US president declares him 'a winner'

Suraj Radia

• 6 Mar 2026 06:46 GMT
• 4 min read

News

Donald Trump met with Lionel Messi and the Inter Miami squad at the White House on Thursday in an encounter that saw the US president claim the Argentine as ‘better than Pele’.

Inter Miami were invited to the White House as tradition following their championship MLS Cup win in December but Messi proved to be the star of the show, garnering most of Trump’s attention.

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The United States’ leader was given a number of gifts and an award as part of the ceremony, while Trump jovially engaged with the smiling Messi, who rarely conversed due to his limited knowledge of English.

“It’s my privilege to say what no other president has ever said before: Welcome Lionel Messi to the White House,” Trump said. “My son said Dad, ‘you know who’s going to be there today?’ I said ‘no, I got a lot of things going on today.

“He said ‘Messi!’ He’s a big fan of yours. He thinks you’re just a great person. He’s a big soccer fan, a tremendous fan of yours and a gentleman named Ronaldo. Cristiano is great. You're great.”

After telling stories of his memories watching former Brazil star Pele, Trump asked the crowd: “I don’t know, [Messi] may be better. Who’s better? I think he is!” while pointing to Messi.

Trump: Messi is a winner

Among the gifts, Trump received an Inter Miami jersey with his name on it, a pink signed football and a watch with his name also etched on the back.

Trump initially spoke of the ongoing conflict with Iran and Cuba before introducing the Inter Miami squad, and declaring Messi a ‘winner’ by celebrating his MLS Cup triumph.

"Leo claimed the 47th trophy of his incredible career - the most of all time,” Trump said. "You could have gone anywhere in the world, any team in the world, and you chose Miami. I just want to thank you for bringing us all on this ride."

“This guy won. There was tremendous fanfare, and he won. Leo, you came in and you won, and that's something very hard to do, 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.”

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