STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team to the White House on Thursday (March 5) following the team's 2025 MLS Cup win.

Trump heaped praise on Messi and the club, and at one point reminisced about his memories of late Brazilian icon Pele, before beginning a short discussion on whether Messi had exceeded Pele as the Greatest of All-time (GOAT), with Messi's teammates backing their man for the crown.

Trump listed off a string of achievements for the club, occasionally shaking hands with players and coaches and commenting on their looks, joking, "I don’t like good-looking men. You don’t feel so good about yourself standing up here."

The club presented Trump with a club shirt and a ball-shaped trophy before Trump told the players they can follow him to visit the Oval Office.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: LIONEL MESSI AND INTER MIAMI SQUAD SHARE THE STAGE WITH U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (MARCH 5, 2026) (US NETWORK POOL - No use USA)

1. U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WALKING INTO ROOM WITH INTER MIAMI AND ARGENTINA FORWARD LIONEL MESSI AND INTER MIAMI CO-OWNER JORGE MAS

2. TRUMP WELCOMING TEAM TO THE WHITE HOUSE / SHAKING MESSI'S HAND

3. MESSI LOOKING AT TRUMP

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"And 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. Lionel Messi is... my son said, ‘Dad, do you know who’s going to be there today?’ I said, ‘No, I’ve got a lot of things going on.’ He said, ‘Messi.’ I said, ‘Really?’ He’s a big fan, 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, so—he’s a big soccer fan, but he’s a tremendous fan of yours and a gentleman named (Portuguese footballer Cristiano) Ronaldo, huh? We have Cristiano who's great, you’re great; boy, some big champions, some great, great athletes in that sport, and people that really, they really love, they really love what they’re doing and they’re doing it well. And it’s an honor for us and everybody at the White House to be honoring you today."

5. MESSI LOOKING AT TRUMP

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"2025 was the record-shattering season for Inter Miami, beginning last summer at the historic FIFA Club World Cup, hosted for the first time right here in the USA. So exciting. I shouldn’t say this because you’ll say I’m old, but I watched Pelé play. He played for the (New York) Cosmos, you know that? And (former Cosmos Chairman) Steve Ross was a great friend. I don’t know how many people remember Stevie, he was a legendary businessman. He really started cable and cable TV, he was way ahead of time and ultimately passed away of terrible tragedy, but he started the Cosmos team and he wanted to get some good players, so he started with Pelé. I don’t know, you may be better than Pelé. Pelé was pretty good. Who’s better, him or Pelé?" / INTER MIAMI PLAYERS POINTING TO MESSI AS THE BETTER PLAYER / TRUMP SAYING HE TENDS TO AGREE

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"In the June group stage of that tournament, these players went toe-to-toe with some of the best teams anywhere in the world. You tied (Egyptian club) Egypt’s best club (Al Ahly), supposed to be an unbelievable, talented club, with a gutsy performance from veteran goalie (Argentine goalkeeper) Oscar Ustari, who played a great game. Then you tied the top Brazilian club (Palmeiras)—wow—thanks to a brilliant goal from one of the greatest strikers of all time, (Uruguayan striker) Luis Suarez.... (shakes Suarez's hand) These are good-looking people. Marco (Rubio), I don’t like good-looking men. You don’t feel so good about yourself standing up here. Good-looking people."

8. SUAREZ LOOKING ON

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"But no match in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup was more important than the match against (Portuguese club) FC Porto. Porto took an early lead, but you came back strong in the 54th minute, tied 1-1. Leo lined up for one of his iconic free-kicks; he struck the ball decisively, bending it over the wall and beating the keeper with a sensational left hook. Would I be able to do that if I practised? (asking co-owner Jorge Mas)... He said no. I think he’s right, my friend."

10. INTER MIAMI SQUAD ON STAGE AS TRUMP TALKS

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, ON MESSI BEING A WINNER, SAYING:

"But I have to say this, so I’ve seen a lot of great players come into the world of sports, and they came in from all different countries, all different players. They’ve come in some cases just from different states; they come to the (New York) Yankees or they come to the (Los Angeles) Dodgers or they come to whatever. But I’ve seen them come in from other countries and there’s such a clamour—'Oh, so great, so great, everything’s great'—but they don’t win. This guy won. He came in, there was tremendous fanfare, and he won. Right? But it’s true, they don’t win. They come in and, you know, they’re great players and they can even play okay, but they don’t win. And 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 know, you’re sort of expected to win, but almost nobody wins. They come in, they’re great, they’re the best in the world, they get paid a fortune—you came in and you won with all that pressure. That’s an amazing, an amazing tribute, so congratulations."

12. INTER MIAMI PLAYERS LOOKING ON

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, ON MLS TITLE GAME, SAYING:

"One flawless unit, just flawless, they say. After (Vancouver) Whitecaps tied the game one-to-one, Leo (Lionel Messi) picked the pocket of a Whitecap defender and sent a pass to the great (Argentine midfielder) Rodrigo De Paul. Where the hell is Rodrigo? (Shakes hands with De Paul)... Do you have any bad-looking players? You know, I like the bad-looking guys much better."

14. MESSI LOOKING ON

15. VARIOUS OF TRUMP BEING AWARDED INTER MIAMI SHIRT BY MAS AND TROPHY BALL BY MESSI