The Democratic Party in the United States seized upon Lionel Messi’s name and his long-standing rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo to respond to the Portuguese star’s recent visit to the White House and his meeting with Republican President Donald Trump.
Trump had praised Ronaldo, calling him “smart and brilliant,” when he was received at the White House by the Saudi delegation, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which met with the US president last week.
The White House released a video of Donald Trump and Cristiano Ronaldo walking together, prompting the Democrats to respond with a video mocking the encounter. The caption accompanying the image of the two together read, “This is not impressive nonsense.”
The video included a montage of photos of the legendary Lionel Messi during his time with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and the Argentinian national team, along with footage of him winning one of his eight Ballon d’Or awards.
This comes amid a war of words initiated by Ronaldo in recent weeks, in which he declared himself the best player in history, superior to Messi, and asserted that winning the 2022 World Cup did not end this rivalry in Messi’s favor.
It’s also worth noting that Trump is expected to host Messi at the White House in the coming months as part of the US president’s campaign to promote the 2026 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
