MLS Cup champion Inter Miami will visit President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, March 5 to commemorate their 2025 title.
Lionel Messi – the two-time MLS MVP, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and Argentine World Cup champion – is expected to attend. It’s unclear whether co-owner and former soccer star David Beckham will also attend.
Inter Miami is taking part in what has become a customary event for professional and college sports champions in the United States to be congratulated by the president.
The ceremony is expected to begin around 4 p.m. ET in the East Room of the White House.
Inter Miami traveled to Washington D.C. on Thursday morning – two days before a match against D.C. United in Baltimore on Saturday, March 7 ahead of the visit.
‘We are going because we are champions from last season,’ Inter Miami midfielder Telasco Segovia said earlier this week. ‘I don’t get involved with politics, but I know it’s an important occasion.’
How to watch Inter Miami’s White House visit?
The visit can be live streamed from the White House’s YouTube channel.
Messi makes the trip with Inter Miami
Messi is included in a pre-flight video before Inter Miami’s trip to D.C. on Thursday morning.
Inter Miami takes off for White House trip
Inter Miami departed from South Florida early Thursday, sharing social media posts – which did not include Messi in the photos.
Has Messi visited the White House before?
Not yet – this would be Messi’s first visit to the White House.
Messi was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden in January 2025, but he did not attend the ceremony due to a scheduling issue during Inter Miami’s offseason.
What does Messi’s visit mean for World Cup?
If Messi visits the White House, Trump will have met two of soccer’s greatest players in the past five months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Soccer’s all-time leading goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo attended a black-tie dinner at the White House when Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman last November.
Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino have become good friends in the past few years, highlighted by several White House visits. Infantino also awarded Trump with FIFA’s Peace Prize during the World Cup draw in December.
Messi, who plays for reigning World Cup champion Argentina, has yet to declare he will play in the tournament. But it’s a safe bet he will.
Why is the visit to the White House controversial?
The United States and Israel began strikes on Iran early on Saturday, Feb. 28, in a campaign that killed the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top officials, among others. Iran is a participating nation in the World Cup, though Trump recently said ‘I really don’t care’ if the country takes part in the tournament.
Also in late February, Trump invited the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams after both winning gold medals at the Milan Cortina Olympics. However, Trump made what was seen as a sexist remark on a phone call with the men’s team after their win, joking that he would also have to invite the women’s team to the White House. While the men’s team visited, the women’s team declined their invitation.
Trump’s widespread immigration crackdown with U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) is also an ongoing controversy. ICE officials could be present at World Cup games this summer, acting director Todd Lyons said last month.
Have MLS Cup-winning teams visited the White House before?
Inter Miami will be the first MLS Cup winner to visit the White House during either of Trump’s presidencies.
David Beckham, an Inter Miami co-owner, attended a White House ceremony with the LA Galaxy in 2012 after winning the 2011 MLS Cup. The Galaxy also visited for titles won in 2012 and 2014 with President Barack Obama. Obama also welcomed the Columbus Crew (2008), Real Salt Lake (2009), Colorado Rapids (2010) and Sporting Kansas City (2013) to the White House.
The last MLS club to visit the White House was the Columbus Crew, who visited Biden in 2024 to celebrate their 2023 title.
D.C. United was the first MLS winner to visit the White House in 1998 when President Bill Clinton was in office.
How did Messi, Inter Miami win MLS Cup?
Inter Miami beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 to win the 2025 MLS Cup on Dec. 6, 2025.
When is Messi’s next game?
Messi is expected to play when Inter Miami faces D.C. United at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday, March 7 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed by Apple TV.