Lionel Messi and MLS Cup champion Inter Miami weren’t the only world-class athletes at the White House on Thursday.
Former Yankees co-owner and current Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez joined the Inter Miami celebration in the East Room of the White House, appearing with U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi.
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber was also present.
A-Rod has no official ties to the MLS club, but he has long been associated with the city of Miami, and President Donald Trump has apparently invited him to the event.
The president posed for a photo with A-Rod in the Oval Office before the ceremony and shouted at him as he spoke during the ceremony in the East Room, saying he was a “huge fan” of the baseball star.
Trump also shared a story about watching Rodriguez play for the Yankees while sitting with late owner George Steinbrenner.
Thursday’s ceremony paid tribute to the MLS Cup-winning club owned by soccer legend David Beckham, a team that includes one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, Messi.
Trump and the football icon entered the East Room together and later shook hands in front of the audience at the event.
Messi helped gift Trump the No. 47 Inter Miami shirt with his name on the back, the team’s jeweled pink soccer ball, and a limited-edition Tudor watch.
Trump praised Messi and described the Argentine as better than Pele, whom the president remembers seeing when he played for the New York Cosmos in the 1970s.
“Who is better, him or Pele?” Trump asked the Inter Miami players standing behind him, then pointed to Messi. “I think he is, but he is very good. Pele is very good.”
There was also an awkward moment during the event when the president spoke about fellow soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who visited the White House in November, while bringing up his youngest son.
“[Barron] “I’m your biggest fan,” Trump said while addressing Messi. “He thinks you’re just a great person. He’s your biggest fan, and he’s a gentleman named Ronaldo… Cristiano is great. Some great champions, some great athletes in this sport.”