Donald Trump asks Lionel Messi awkward question in front of Inter Miami teammates during White House visit

Imagine being asked who the greatest of all time is by the President of the United States, knowing you’re one of the possible answers.

Well, for eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, that’s exactly what transpired during Inter Miami’s visit to the White House.

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Messi and his teammates were invited to Washington D.C. by United States president Donald Trump to celebrate their inaugural MLS Cup victory from last season.

The Floridian side earned their maiden triumph with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps last December, where Messi chipped in with two assists.

Unsurprisingly the World Cup winner, who pledged his future to Miami until 2028 last October, was the centre of attention at the White House.

During Trump’s speech, he turned to Messi and thanked him for choosing to continue his career in the United States following his departure from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.

“Leo claimed the 47th trophy of his incredible career, the most of all time,” Trump said.

“You could have gone anywhere in the world, any team in the world, and you chose Miami. I just want to thank you for bringing us all on this ride.”

Pele v Messi?

Trump then decided to place Messi in an incredibly awkward position as he asked whether he was better than Brazilian icon Pele.

But what made the situation all the more brutal was the fact Messi was stood in front of the entire Miami team and coaching staff.

“I shouldn’t say this because you’ll say I’m old, but I watched Pele play, he played for the [New York] Cosmos, ” Trump said.

“I don’t know, you (Messi) may be better than Pele. Pele was pretty good.”

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Trump then turned to the Miami team and asked: “Who’s better, him or Pele?”

Unsurprisingly, all of Messi’s teammates backed him in the debate as the crowd erupted into a round of applause.

Even though Trump saw Pele in his prime, he seemingly conceded Messi was the superior superstar.

“But he (Pele) was pretty good, right?” Trump continued.

“Pele was pretty good.”

Just how good was Pele?

Trump was doing Pele a slight disservice by calling the Brazilian ‘pretty good’.

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Pele holds the Guinness World Record for the most goals scored by a player in history, having netted an absurd 1,279 times in 1,363 matches, although that tally includes friendlies.

He was also named as FIFA’s Player of the Century alongside Diego Maradona.

Dashing De Paul

Messi wasn’t the only Miami star to have been given the spotlight by Trump.

The president offered special praise to Messi’s club and international teammate Rodrigo De Paul, who bagged Miami’s second goal in the MLS Cup final.

“The entire team played together as one flawless unit, just flawless, they say,” Trump said.

“After Vancouver tied the game 1-1, Leo picked the pocket of a Whitecap defender and sent a pass to the great Rodrigo De Paul. Where the hell is Rodrigo?”

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Trump then turned around, only for De Paul to be standing right in front of him.

Taken aback by the midfielder’s presence, Trump returned to the podium and added: “Do you have any bad-looking players?”

Messi and his Miami teammates will hope to seal a return to the White House this time next year as they look to retain their MLS Cup crown.

Miami have had an indifferent start to the 2026 campaign, picking up one win and one loss from their opening two games.

The Floridian side is next in action on Saturday as they travel to face D.C. United.