This Friday (6), it was practically impossible to turn on local TV or access Argentineans’ social media profiles without coming across the photo of Lionel Messi next to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in the White House — and all the discussions that the event provoked.
Inter Miami CF players, led by their idol, visited the republican club the day before, after winning the MLS (Major League Soccer) title, posed for photos and listened to a speech by the president.
Trump then joked about his son meeting Messi and praised the talent of the Argentine and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. “My son said to me, ‘Dad, do you know who’s coming today?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t know, I’m really busy.’ He said: ‘Messi!'”, joked the American president when starting the event, which was preceded by an update on operations in the war in Iran.
On social media and in the press, Argentines were divided over their idol’s participation in the meeting with Trump: part of the fans saw the gesture as something practical, using the situation to favor the team in the next World Cup, which will be in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Part of the public, however, expressed disappointment, anger and rejection especially at a time of global tension due to the war in the Middle East. And because Messi tends to shield himself from public events, especially those led by politicians.
The Argentines recalled that the winning team at the 2022 World Cup did not go to Casa Rosada. At the time, the players claimed that they did not want to politicize winning the World Cup and avoided getting closer to the then president, the unpopular Alberto Fernández.
On Thursday (5), at the ceremony, the Inter Miami team formally positioned themselves in front of an audience made up of referees, guests and journalists. When Trump entered, with Messi and top hat Jorge Mas, the Argentine captain showed signs of discomfort when taking the stage, preferring to stay close to his teammates.
Shy and reserved, Lionel Messi usually prefers not to be the center of attention, often feeling uncomfortable with tributes. He avoided the center of the scene, where Trump was.
The division of Argentines over Messi’s visit, in which Trump also praised the beauty of Rodrigo De Paul —his Inter Miami and national team teammate—, also reached Argentine politics.
President Javier Milei, an unconditional ally of Trump, defended the Argentine star’s participation in the event. “That’s what I said about Messi in 2018, while journalism spoiled him and some reckless people said he was afraid of winning,” wrote the president, reposting a message in which Milei said that there is no other player comparable to Messi.
On the opposition side, journalist and Peronist activist Ángela Lerena said on X that she considered the scene at the White House “horrible”, while sports columnist Flavio Azzaro said that the champion could have invented an excuse not to go. “Messi could say: ‘My baby has a fever and I’m not going,” he wrote.
Although the event at the White House was about football, Trump took the opportunity to deviate from the topic and began to mention political issues, such as the war in Iran and the situations in Venezuela and Cuba.
When the American president mentioned the two Latin countries, Messi’s expression changed and he looked down, visibly uncomfortable, without joining in the applause that followed.
