Cristiano Ronaldo was a distinguished guest at a lavish White House dinner hosted by United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening. The event was organised to honour Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and saw the presence of top officials from both nations, alongside influential business leaders including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla founder Elon Musk.
At the event, Ronaldo was seated prominently at the front of the East Room, where President Trump and the Crown Prince delivered addresses to the assembled guests. During his speech, Trump singled out Ronaldo’s presence, noting that he had introduced the football star to his 19-year-old son, Barron Trump.
“Barron is a huge fan of Ronaldo,” Trump remarked from the podium. “Wherever Ronaldo goes, my son wants to be there too. Today, Barron had the opportunity to meet him in person, and I believe that just having introduced them has earned me a little more respect from my son.”
Ronaldo’s connection with Trump is not entirely new. In June of this year, Ronaldo sent a signed jersey as a gift, presented to the former U.S. president by Portugal’s former Prime Minister and former President of the European Council, António Costa, in Alberta, Canada. In a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo described Trump as “a person capable of making or helping drive change in the world.”
The visit by Ronaldo and the Crown Prince carries notable political and diplomatic significance. Following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, relations between the United States and the Saudi Crown Prince were strained, and Prince Mohammed had not visited the U.S. for a prolonged period.
For Ronaldo, the visit marked a return to the United States, where he last played in 2014. His next journey to the country is already planned, as he will return with aspirations of winning the World Cup next year. The group stage draw for the tournament will take place on 5 December at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, an event expected to be attended by President Trump himself, reflecting his personal enthusiasm for the 2026 World Cup.