News

Trump Honors Lionel Messi & Inter Miami At The White House For Winning MLS Cup

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami visited President Donald Trump at the White House, with Messi giving him a gift.

Messi and the team were honored for winning the MLS Cup final for the first time in club history. Trump was gifted a pink Miami ball, an Inter Miami jersey, and a watch by head coach Javier Mascherano.

This comes in the wake of other soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo visiting Trump at the Oval Office, as this was Messi’s first trip to the White House.

Trump spoke about Inter Miami’s visit to the White House, saying, “We’re honoring truly talented people.”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

“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 Messi.’

“My son said, ‘Dad, do you know who’s going to be there today?’ I said, ‘No, I got a lot of things going on.’ He said, ‘Messi.’

“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. So he’s a big soccer fan, but he’s a tremendous fan of yours. And a gentleman named Ronaldo. Cristiano is great. You’re great,” Trump said.

Inter Miami won the title back in December, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Messi was also named the league MVP for the second straight season.

“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 added.

Sam Lanier

Senior at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication at Arizona State University

Recent Posts

Chicago White Sox 2026 MLB Season Outlook: Schedule, Odds & Tickets

2025 can be considered a season of improvement for the rebuilding White Sox, who finished…

9 hours ago

Anthony Edwards Out For Several Weeks With Knee Injury; Timberwolves Lead First Round Series 3-1

Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards will be out multiple weeks after suffering a bone…

10 hours ago

Mets Swept By Rockies; 2-15 In Last 17 Games

The New York Mets continue to struggle after getting swept by the Colorado Rockies. The…

10 hours ago

Diego Pavia Invited To Ravens Minicamp After Going Undrafted – Heisman Runner-Up Looks To Win Roster Spot

Quarterback Diego Pavia received an invite to the Baltimore Ravens minicamp. The Vanderbilt alumnus went…

10 hours ago

Rapper Chrisean Rock Wins Her Boxing Debut Over Zenith Zion

Rapper and reality TV personality Chrisean Rock won her professional boxing debut with a split…

10 hours ago

Brandon Aubrey Highest-Paid Kicker In NFL After Extension With Cowboys – Is He Worth It?

The Dallas Cowboys have made Brandon Aubrey the highest-paid kicker in the NFL. Aubrey signed…

1 day ago