Sasha And Malia Obama Tried (And Failed) To Meet Soccer Superstar In Argentina

First daughters Sasha and Malia Obama's request to meet Barcelona soccer player Lionel Messi was denied, according to their dad.

While speaking at a town hall event in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday, President Barack Obama said he couldn’t make his daughters' request happen.

"They've already met one famous [Argentinian] -- His Holiness Pope Francis. Now they want to meet Messi, but I could not arrange that ," Obama said. "I also wanted to bring my daughters here so they could see the beauty and the vibrancy of [Buenos Aires].”

The Argentinian forward has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award five times is currently training with the Argentina national team ahead of this weekend’s World Cup qualifier in Chile.

The first family arrived in Argentina Wednesday after spending the first half of the week in Cuba. Obama hopes to strengthen political and economic ties  with Latin America during his two-day visit.