In a bombshell interview with Spanish outlet Marca that has sent shockwaves through the football world, 18-year-old Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal launched an unprecedented attack on his idol-turned-rival Lionel Messi, accusing the Inter Miami star of calculated opportunism and hypocrisy surrounding a high-profile White House ceremony earlier this year.
According to Yamal, speaking from the Catalan club’s Ciutat Esportiva training ground, Messi was one of several global figures quietly selected in January 2025 for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor, in recognition of his humanitarian work and his role in elevating soccer’s profile in America. The ceremony was scheduled for February 14 at the White House, hosted by President Donald Trump in one of his first major public events after inauguration. Yet Messi, Yamal claims, deliberately snubbed the invitation.
“He was on the official list; I saw the internal FIFA memo myself,” Yamal said, his tone a mixture of disappointment and anger. “But Leo said no. He told his people he didn’t want to be ‘politicized’ and that accepting an award from Trump would damage his image in certain countries. Fine. Everyone knows his politics. But then, three weeks later, when Gianni Infantino flew in for a private photo-op with Trump to discuss the 2026 World Cup, suddenly Messi was there, smiling, shaking hands, taking selfies, like nothing happened.”
Photographs from March 8, 2025, show Messi indeed inside the Oval Office alongside Infantino, Trump, and FIFA executives, laughing as the U.S. president signed a ceremonial soccer ball. At the time, Inter Miami’s PR team described it as “a courtesy meeting arranged by FIFA to strengthen ties ahead of the World Cup.” Yamal, however, sees it differently.
“He wasn’t invited to the Medal of Freedom, so he boycotted it,” Yamal continued. “But the moment there were cameras, Trump’s name, and a chance to be seen as the face of football on the biggest stage, he jumped on a private jet. That’s not principles; that’s marketing. He used Trump’s fame when it suited his brand, then acted above politics when it didn’t. You can’t have it both ways.”
The remarks mark the first time Yamal has publicly criticized Messi, the man he once called “my reference” and whose famous number 10 he now wears for Spain. Sources close to Barcelona’s dressing room say tensions have been building for months. Messi reportedly unfollowed Yamal on Instagram after the teenager overtook several of his Champions League records this season, and the two have exchanged only curt pleasantries when Spain and Argentina met in friendlies.
Messi’s camp responded swiftly last night. A spokesperson for Inter Miami told ESPN: “Lionel never received a formal invitation for any Medal of Freedom ceremony. The March meeting was exclusively organized by FIFA; he attended out of respect for the World Cup and the growth of soccer in the United States, nothing more. Claims otherwise are completely false and disappointing coming from a young player he has always supported.”
Yet Yamal doubled down on social media minutes after the interview dropped, posting a screenshot of an alleged January 2025 email from the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence addressed to Messi’s foundation, stamped “Declined – Scheduling Conflict.”
The episode has divided fans and pundits. Some praise Yamal’s courage to call out perceived hypocrisy; others accuse the teenager of disrespecting the greatest player of all time out of jealousy. One thing is certain: the once-sacred mentor-protégé dynamic between Messi and the new generation has fractured publicly, and football’s biggest rivalry may no longer be Barcelona vs Real Madrid, but past vs future.
As Yamal concluded in the interview, voice steady: “Records are there to be broken, and respect is there to be earned, not bought with photo-ops.”
