Wednesday, November 19, 2025 - Ronaldo was seen at Tuesday's White House black-tie dinner, which was also attended by Elon Musk and the Saudi crown prince
Superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo attended a White House black-tie
dinner alongside the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night.
Speaking ahead of the event, US President Donald Trump said it was an
"honour" to host Ronaldo, whose starring role in the Saudi football
league has seen him become a face of the country's modernisation drive under
the crown prince.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman wants to reduce the country's
dependence on oil revenues by diversifying into other areas including sports
and tourism.
A White House official confirmed earlier in the day that
Ronaldo would attend, but did not say if he was part of bin Salman's official
delegation.
Trump used his speech at the dinner to praise closer ties
with Saudi Arabia, labelling the country a "major non-Nato ally".
Earlier in the day, Trump hosted the Saudi crown prince in the Oval Office.
Turning to the Portuguese soccer star, Trump told the
gathered guests: "My son is a big fan of Ronaldo".
"And Baron (Trump) got to meet him, and I think he
respects his father a little bit more now, just the fact that I introduced
you."
Also at the dinner was tech billionaire Elon Musk, who
joined other influential business leaders including Apple CEO Tim Cook. It is
the first time Musk has been to the White House since stepping down as the
head of the Trump administration's Department for Government Efficiency
(Doge) in April.
A dramatic feud between Trump and the Tesla tycoon played
out publicly for months, and included Musk announcing that he would set
up a new political party.
Cristiano Ronaldo's attendance at the White House,
meanwhile. marks one of his first known visits to the US since 2016.
In the interim he has faced an allegation of sexual assault.
Kathryn Mayorga alleged that Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in
2009, which he denied.
"I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me.
Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe
in," he said in a statement in 2018.
In 2019, US prosecutors said Ronaldo would not face charges
because the claims could not be proven.
In early 2023, Ronaldo made the jump to Saudi Arabia when he became the face of the Saudi Pro League and captain of Al Nassr - the football club owned by sovereign wealth fund PIF which is chaired by the crown prince.
In an industry where players are paid extraordinary amounts of money, Ronaldo's pay deal with Saudi Arabia was astronomical. The footballer was reportedly paid $200m (£152m) a year - or more than half a million dollars a day.
Then in June this year, he signed a new two-year deal for a
reported total of $400m (£300m) and became football's first billionaire
player, according to Bloomberg, with a net worth of $1.4bn.
That's a lot of money for a 40-year-old footballer in the
twilight of his career.
But, according to Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East
and North Africa programme at Chatham House, Saudi Arabia has "invested
heavily in high profile events and individuals to put the kingdom on the
map" in terms of sports and tourism in its quest for modernism.
Ronaldo has referred to bin Salman as "our boss"
in an interview with broadcaster Piers Morgan.
Earlier this month, he appeared at a Ministry of Tourism
event in Riyadh where he talked up the kingdom's development projects and his
hopes for the 2034 FIFA World Cup being held in Saudi Arabia.
As for meeting Trump, Vakil says: "The US president
likes shiny things and Ronaldo is a shiny thing."
Though the footballer has loftier ambitions for the meeting
in Washington - world peace.
In July, European Council president Antonio Costa handed
Trump a Portugal jersey signed by Ronaldo which read: "To president Donald
J. Trump, Playing for Peace."
He told Morgan: "I hope to sit down with him someday
because he's one of those people I really like.
"I think he can make things happen and I respect people
like that."
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