Maradona’s shadow: Messi under fire for ‘endorsing’ Trump amid war crisis | OneFootball

The captain of Inter Miami participated in the tribute for the 2025 MLS title. The event took place amidst a complex war scenario and generated strong repercussions due to the closeness between the star and the leader.

In a context marked by the recent U.S. military intervention in Iran and the impact of the Epstein case on the public agenda, Donald Trump received the Inter Miami team this Thursday. The event, which celebrated the championship won in 2025, drew attention for being held in March and for the strong political undertones surrounding the day.

The staging was strategic: Lionel Messi and the franchise owner, Jorge Mas, escorted the president upon his entrance. During the ceremony, the star from Rosario took a central place in front of the cameras, being captured in images where he was seen applauding and sharing gestures of cordiality with Trump, even when the presidential speech shifted towards the war situation in the Middle East.

The contrast with 2022 and the memory of Maradona

The complicity between the two sparked an immediate wave of criticism on social media. The main point of contention for Argentine fans was the comparison with Diego Maradona's historical stance and the contrast with Messi's own attitude in 2022, when he decided not to attend the Casa Rosada after winning the World Cup to avoid any political association.

Users were quick to point out the contradiction of avoiding an institutional gesture in his home country but accepting such a direct exposure alongside a controversial figure like Trump in the current global scenario.

The repudiation was widespread in the virtual world:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.