Some of the sports greats, from soccer legend Lionel Messi to baseball icon Alex Rodriguez, aka A-Rod, were at the White House on Thursday. The two met President Donald Trump before the 79-year-old spoke about Inter Miami’s MLS win, congratulating the Argentine and the club’s co-owner, Jorge Mas. Notably, the other owner, English great David Beckham, was not present at the event.
Videos showing A-Rod and Messi surfaced on social media.
Why Messi was at the White House
Messi and the rest of the Inter Miami squad were invited to the White House to commemorate the 2025 MLS Cup title that they won in December. The club flew to DC on Thursday ahead of a game against DC United in Baltimore on Saturday.
Inter Miami flew to the nation’s capital on Thursday ahead of a game against D.C. United in Baltimore on Saturday.
What did Trump say about Messi?
As Messi stood next to Trump, the president started off on the conflict in Iran. “The United States military, together with the wonderful Israeli partners, continuous to totally demolish the enemy, at levels people have never seen before. We are destroying Iran’s missiles.”
He then turned his attention to Messi. “My son [Barron] said, ‘Dad do you know who’s gonna be there today?’ I said no, I’ve got a lot of things going on. He said, ‘Messi!’ He’s a big fan, 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.”
“He’s a big soccer fan but he’s a tremendous fan of yours, and a gentleman named Ronaldo.”
At one point, Trump compared Messi to the great Pele. “You might be better than Pele. Who’s better? Him or Pele?” he asked. The crowd responded with the 2022 World Cup winner’s name.
This is Messi’s first trip to the White House. The 8-time Ballon d’Or winner had declined former president Joe Biden’s invitation to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
His management team said at the time: “Messi said he is deeply honored and it is a profound privilege to receive the recognition, but would be unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts and prior commitments.”
Last year, Ronaldo was at the White House.
