President Donald Trump hosted Lionel Messi and Inter Miami at the White House. Trump drew global attention by starting the Messi vs Ronaldo debate while interacting with Messi.
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Lionel Messi, alongside his current club, Inter Miami, who are the MLS Cup champions, was honoured at the White House by President Donald Trump on Thursday, March 5, 2026. The event noted Miami's victory against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the final held in December, this being the first occasion an MLS team visited the White House under Trump's presidency. Messi, who has won the league MVP award twice, headed the group and gave the President a distinctive bejewelled pink soccer ball as a memento of the day. President Trump sparked a massive social media reaction by bringing Cristiano Ronaldo into the conversation, noting that his son is a "tremendous fan" of both the Portuguese legend and the Argentine.
At the event, Trump couldn't stop praising Messi. He talked about the crazy pressure Messi faced when he joined Inter Miami. Everyone expected Messi to win, and the fact that he pulled it off so fast? Trump called that impressive, even unusual.
There was a funny moment, too. Trump mentioned his family's tie to soccer's biggest rivalry. His son actually asked if Messi would be there. Then Trump tipped his hat to both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, calling them the best of the best. He even compared Messi to Pele and reminisced about watching Pele play for the New York Cosmos.
🇧🇷🇦🇷 Donald Trump: “Who’s better, Messi or Pelé?”.
🎥 @MargoMartin47 pic.twitter.com/ZnWVvRfi2X— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 6, 2026
The moment everyone talked about happened when the President jumped right into the whole “GOAT” debate, dropping a mention of Al-Nassr’s captain during a ceremony that was actually for the Inter Miami team. You can see Messi grinning in the video while Trump talks about the two legends.
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