Argentina superstar Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates were welcomed by President Donald Trump to the White House on Thursday to celebrate the team’s 2025 MLS Cup title.
The players brought gifts for Trump. They included the number 47 from the team’s pink jersey, which reflected his status as the country’s 47th president.
Messi was front and center as Miami players, coach Javier Mascherano and team co-owner Jorge Mas flanked Trump, who opened proceedings with comments about military action in the Middle East.
But he soon got to the 2025 team’s performances and memories of Brazilian icon Pelé’s 1970s stint with the New York Cosmos and his electrifying influence on soccer in the United States, AFP news agency reported.
“We like champions, we like winners,” Trump said, according to the New York Times, before speaking for several minutes about the military situation while a group from Miami stood behind him on stage.
“The U.S. military, along with its amazing Israeli partners, continues to completely demolish the enemy far ahead of schedule,” Trump said.
“We’re destroying more of Iran’s missiles and drone capabilities every hour … We want to fight more than they do now. We’ve had 47 years, depending on how you count it, 47 years of horror with this group,” he said.
This comes after a busy day on the political front, when Trump removed Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem from her position.
“Welcome to the White House”
There were shout-outs from Trump to Miami’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez, rising star Tadeo Allende and Rodrigo De Paulo — and a subtle dig at former President Joe Biden.
“It is my unique privilege to say what no American president has ever had the opportunity to say before: Welcome to the White House, Lionel,” Trump said, in an indirect reference to the fact that Messi did not attend the ceremony when Biden presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2025.
“I’ve seen a lot of great players come into the world of sports,” Trump said. “They come to the Yankees or the Dodgers … and there’s such an uproar,” he said.
“Everything is great, but they don’t win. This kid won,” he said, gesturing towards Messi. “Leo, you came in and you won. There’s a lot more pressure on you than anybody knows because you’re kind of expected to win,” Trump added.
Trump’s tally of Miami’s achievements in 2025 included not only their 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup final, but also a 2-1 win over Portugal’s Porto in the Club World Cup, marking the first time a North American team had defeated a European team in an official competition.
Accepting Trump’s congratulations, Mas — the son of Cuban immigrants — said Miami’s rise since its 2020 inaugural season was based on the philosophy that “if you work hard, sacrifice and dream, it can be possible.”
Inter Miami’s global success is “not only because of Lionel Messi, but these men behind you have changed the culture of soccer in the United States of America forever,” Mas said. “We can play with the big boys.
(With input from agencies)
