Trump Hosts Messi, Inter Miami After 2025 MLS Cup Triumph
By: Akinde .S. Oluwaseun
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates. They got a special invite. To the White House. From President Trump. Thursday. Big deal.
Argentina’s superstar Messi. He was front and center. Miami players. Coach Javier Mascherano. Team co-owner Jorge Mas. All flanking Trump. The president started talking. Military action in the Middle East. Then switched gears. To soccer. To Miami’s 2025 season. To Pele. The Brazilian legend. His time with the New York Cosmos. Back in the 1970s. Trump said, “I shouldn’t say this ’cause I’m old. But I watched Pele play.” Then he dropped this: “I don’t know, you (Messi) may be better than Pele. Pele was pretty good.”
The players brought gifts. For Trump. A No. 47 jersey. From Miami’s pink kit. Get it? Trump’s the 47th president. Trump gave shout-outs too. To Luis Suarez. Uruguayan striker. To Tadeo Allende. Rising star. To Rodrigo De Paul. And he took a subtle jab at Joe Biden. Former president. Trump 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.” Why’s that matter? Because Messi skipped Biden’s ceremony. When he got the Presidential Medal of Freedom. January 2025.
Trump kept talking. About great players. Coming to America. To the Yankees. To the Dodgers. “Everything’s great, but they don’t win. This guy won,” he said, pointing at Messi. “Leo, you came in and you won. There’s a lot more pressure put on you than anyone would know because you’re sort of expected to win.”
Trump listed Miami’s 2025 wins. MLS Cup final. 3-1 against Vancouver Whitecaps. Club World Cup. 2-1 victory over Porto. Portuguese side. First time a North American team beat a European one. Officially.
Mas spoke up. Son of Cuban immigrants. He said Miami’s rise since 2020. It’s about hard work. Sacrifice. Dreaming big. “If you work hard and you sacrifice and you dream, it can be possible.”
Mas praised the whole team. Not just Messi. “These men standing behind you have changed the culture of football in the United States of America forever,” he said. “We can play with the big boys.”
