inter miami Attended a White House reception on Thursday to celebrate winning the MLS Cup with the captain for the first time in club history Lionel Messi Giving a gift to President Donald Trump.
Messi entered the East Room with Trump and Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas and later handed the president a signed Miami pink soccer ball. Trump also received a Miami jersey and watch from Maas and head coach Javier Mascherano.
It was the first White House visit by Messi, who joined him in Miami in July 2023, and after fellow soccer great – and longtime Messi rival – Cristiano Ronaldo attended a dinner there last November.
“We’re honoring really talented people,” Trump said, with Messi and Mas flanked by the rest of the Miami team. “It’s a special privilege for me to say that no American president has ever had the opportunity to say this before: ‘Welcome to the White House, Lionel Messi.’
“My son said, ‘Dad, do you know who’s going to be there today?’ I said, ‘No, there are many things going on in my mind.’ He said, ‘Messi.’
“He’s a big fan of yours. He thinks you’re a great guy. And I think you met a while ago. So he’s a big football fan, but he’s a big fan of yours. And a gentleman called Ronaldo. Cristiano is great. You’re great.”
Miami defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in Fort Lauderdale on December 6 to win the 2025 MLS Cup, and the Argentine superstar was named the league’s MVP for the second consecutive season.
Trump said, “Leo, you came in and won, and it’s very hard to do, very unusual, and frankly, more pressure is put on you than anyone will know, because you expect to win, but almost nobody wins.”
Other Inter Miami stars in attendance also included Luis Suarez, Tadeo Allende And rodrigo de paul. MLS Commissioner Don Garber sat next to Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House World Cup task force. Also present were retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez and members of Trump’s cabinet.
After the welcome ceremony, Trump invited the team to the Oval Office.
The event follows a long-standing tradition in American sports of celebrating championships with a White House reception.
DC United stand as first of MLS The team would visit the White House after the Cup victory in 1998, and LA Galaxy Visited on several occasions, winning in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
Messi was first invited by the Joe Biden administration to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in early January 2025, but was unable to attend due to prior commitments.
During Thursday’s ceremony, Trump recounted how he watched Brazilian great Pele play with the New York Cosmos. He looked at Messi: “You can be better than Pele,” then asked the crowd, “Who is better?”
Maas said that his team “forever changed the culture of soccer in the United States.”
“We can play with the big boys, we can play with the giants. Our league can be one of the top leagues in the world,” Maas said. “And it’s that ability to dream, to persevere, to persevere, no matter what obstacles are in front of us, that we will continue to succeed. And hopefully, Mr. President, this is not our only trip to celebrate an MLS Cup championship.”
The MLS Cup victory marked a rapid rise for Inter Miami, who also count David Beckham as co-owner since beginning play in 2020.
“This championship was very well-deserved, well played and you see one of the best teams in the world standing behind us,” Maas said. “And all of this was possible because we dared to dream.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
