Lionel Messi and his team Inter Miami CF visited the White House on Thursday. They were honored by U. S. President Donald Trump for winning the Major League Soccer Cup last year.
Inter Miami won the final by beating the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in December. Messi was also named the league’s Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row.
Trump praised Messi and said it is very hard to join a new team and win because people expect a lot from him.
“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,” Trump said.
Messi, who entered the ceremony alongside Trump, joined Inter Miami in 2023. He did not speak during the event.
Other players like Luis Suárez, Tadeo Allende and Rodrigo De Paul were also there. Former baseball player Alex Rodriguez attended as well.
During the ceremony, Trump spoke about how he saw Brazilian great Pele play with the New York Cosmos. He looked to Messi: “You may be better than Pele,” then asked the crowd, “Who’s better?”
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas said his team has “changed the culture of football in the United States of America forever.”
“We can play with the big boys, we can play with the heavyweights. Our league can be one of the top leagues in the world,” Mas said. “And it is this ability to dream, to persevere, to have no obstacles ahead of us, that we will continue to be successful. And hopefully, Mr. President, this is not our only visit here celebrating an MLS Cup championship.”
It was the first White House visit for Messi. He was invited by the Biden administration to be presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year but could not attend because of a scheduling conflict.
Inter Miami was the first MLS team to be invited to the White House during Trump’s two terms in office.
Inter Miami will stay in Washington and play a match against D.C. United on Saturday.
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