Lionel Messi snubs Joe Biden and glitzy White House ceremony after being awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
Lionel Messi risks further anger after choosing not to attend the glamorous White House ceremony to receive his Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The World Cup winner received the highest American civilian honor on Saturday and was invited to meet Joe Biden and receive the award in Washington DC.
As photos of the ceremony emerged, it became clear that Messi was one of the few recipients who skipped the event and was not on stage with Biden.
The likes of Bono, Magic Johnson, Hillary Clinton and Michael J. Fox all headed to the American capital, but there was no sign of Messi.
It was later confirmed that he was not present, and shortly afterwards the official word came that his absence was due to a ‘scheduling issue’.
It was also reported that no one was present to accept the award on his behalf, and the announcer even skipped Messi’s name when reading out the 2025 recipients of the medal.
Magic Johnson was among the superstars who made the trip to the White House on Saturday
President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hillary Clinton
Lionel Messi, pictured last week with his wife Antonela, decided not to attend the ceremony
On Friday, Messi was photographed playing football with some children at his home in Rosario, Argentina, after spending Christmas in Miami with his family.
The decision to give him the honor had already sparked crowd anger earlier in the day, with one fan describing it as ‘bulls***’.
“Messi moved here a year ago,” the post added. “If people get this award for being a good example and doing charity work, millions of people should get it.”
Another user on This government is a fucking joke!’
The 37-year-old Inter Miami star is being honored for his charity work with UNICEF and his own foundation, as well as his own success on the football field, winning the Copa America on US soil after winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The likes of Denzel Washington and Anna Wintour all made the trip to the American capital
In Messi’s most recent Instagram post, he played football with children in Rosario this week
In a statement unveiling the winners of this year’s award, the White House said of the soccer star: “Messi is the most decorated player in the history of professional soccer.
“He supports healthcare and education programs for children around the world through the Leo Messi Foundation and serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.”
When it emerged that he had rejected the glitzy White House event, a second wave of anger erupted online.
One X user wrote: ‘This is just incredible. Why hasn’t he been here?’
Another said: ‘He must be a Trump man’