Following a trip to the White House on Thursday, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have experienced a surge of backlash online, prompting a response from manager Javier Mascherano.
“We complied with a protocol that is a tradition to come to the White House for being the championship team,” Mascherano said in a press conference Friday, per the Miami Herald.
President Donald Trump and his staff received the Miami side in the East Room to commemorate the club’s 2025 MLS Cup title, making Inter Miami the first of the league’s teams to be hosted by the Trump administration.
The visit, which saw the team gift Trump a custom No. 47 jersey and a signed, bedazzled ball from Messi, came amid the heightening conflict in the Middle East due to the U.S. and Israel’s joint combat operation against Iran. While the Inter Miami players stood in rows behind him, the President interspersed several remarks about the regional conflict into the team’s congratulatory speech, which resulted in low applause from dignitaries and players.
“We like champions, we like winners,” Trump said to open his speech. “The United States military, together with the wonderful Israeli partners, continues to totally demolish the enemy far ahead of schedule at levels people have never seen before. We’re destroying more of Iran’s missiles and drone capability every single hour.”
Trump with Inter Miami behind him: "When you see somebody walking down the street without their legs, without the arms, whose face is so badly affected and hurt, it mostly came from -- 95% -- Soleimani and Iran" pic.twitter.com/2iUUdWvsv4
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 5, 2026
What Did Mascherano Have to Say?
“I thought we were going to talk football,” Mascherano said. “We were there a few hours, got to see a little bit of the White House, not much, what we could. The contact with President Trump was what was seen on TV, not much more than that.”
Inter Miami, who won the MLS Cup back in December, arranged the White House trip long before the U.S. and Israel’s first airstrikes inside Iran, which took place on Feb. 28.
“The White House visit was planned between a month [and] a half and two months ago,” Mascherano said.
The trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. was coordinated with Miami’s league schedule, which includes a road game against D.C. United on Saturday afternoon. To accommodate the ‘Lionel Messi factor’, the teams will compete 40 miles north of the White House and D.C. United’s traditional home stadium (Audi Field) at the 71,000-seat M&T Bank Stadium, home to the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.
Another year, another special stadium unlocked for @InterMiamiCF. 🔐
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 6, 2026
DC hosts MIA at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday at 4:30pm ET: https://t.co/sZ7GSSpJxC pic.twitter.com/iGgammAWRB
The Baltimore-area game, which kicks off at 4:30 p.m. ET, has already sold more than 62,000 tickets and is expected to be a complete sellout, according to Tom Bogert.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘We Complied With Protocol’—Inter Miami Manager Addresses White House Visit After Fan Backlash.
