Lionel Messi and Inter Miami visited the White House and were warmly welcomed by US President Donald Trump, who was full of praise for the Argentine, just as he had previously done for Cristiano Ronaldo.
The first visit was to the Portuguese star, but in fact, throughout those visits and another, President Trump praised the two soccer players as well as mentioning Pell, whom he first met, while completely omitting Diego Armando Maradona.
What Donald Trump said to Lionel Messi during his White House visit
“Leo, you went out there and you won. That’s a very difficult thing to do. It’s very unusual and, frankly, there’s more pressure on you than anyone realizes, because you expected to win to some degree, but almost no one wins,” Trump said.
President Trump told a visibly nervous Lionel Messi: “My son is a big fan of your football and of the man Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano is great. You guys are great champions and athletes in your sport.”
Last February, the President of the United States praised Cristiano Ronaldo, calling him the greatest of all time. He also talked about the 2025 Pels.
“Years ago, when I was young, they brought a player named Pell to play, and he played on a team called the New York Cosmos,” President Trump said on DAZN in July 2025.
“And this place was packed, it was an early version of this stadium (MetLife Stadium) and it was Pell.
“I don’t want to date myself, but that was a long time ago and I was young and I came to see Pell and he was great.
“So maybe I’ll be old-fashioned and say Pell was so great, the same way I would say Babe Ruth.”
But between his White House visit and his on-camera comments, it’s clear that these guys are no strangers to him, but President Donald Trump has completely erased Diego Armando Maradona from his mind, a player who usually enters discussions of the greatest soccer players of all time.
Despite being a modern-day player, the President of the United States has never mentioned his name, only bringing up the names of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pell in conversation.
