One of the most famous athletes in the world visited the White House on Thursday, March 5, which came as news to President Donald Trump.
“My son said, ‘Dad, do you know who’s going to be there today?’” Trump, 79, explained. “I said, ‘No, I got a lot of things going on.’ He said, ‘Messi.’”
Trump continued, “He’s a big fan of yours. He thinks you’re just a great person. And I think you got to meet a little while ago. So he’s a big soccer fan, but he’s a tremendous fan of yours.”
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates were honored at the White House for winning the MLS Cup in December 2025.
Trump referenced his 19-year-old son again in a bit of an awkward moment when he brought up Barron’s support of “a gentleman named Ronaldo.”
“Cristiano is great,” the president said. “You’re great.”
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, 38, have one of the most storied rivalries in modern sports history.
During the ceremony, the president singled out Messi, who joined Inter Miami in 2023.
“We’re honoring truly talented people,” he said. “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, “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.”
Messi presented the president with a pink Inter Miami soccer ball during the celebration. Trump was also gifted an Inter Miami jersey and a special watch from head coach Javier Mascherano.
“You could have gone anywhere in the world,” Trump said to Messi. “You could have chosen any team in the world, and you chose to go to Miami. I don’t blame you. The weather’s extremely good.”
The president then referenced the Trump National Doral Golf Club, which he owns in Miami.
“Do you go to Doral? You go to Doral and play golf?” the president asked. “I just want to thank you for bringing us all on this ride, because you are hot and talented and a great person.”
Trump seemingly had a difficult time getting over the attractiveness level of many of the players in the room.
“Do you have any bad-looking players?” he said while looking around. “I like the bad-looking players much better.”
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