‘Thank You For Being Here’: Donald Trump Hosts Cristiano Ronaldo And Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince At The White House

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Football legend Cristiano Ronaldo visited the White House as US President Donald Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington D.C. Ronaldo was one of the high-profile guests in a list that reportedly included names like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Portugal recently defeated Armenia and Ronaldo is gearing up to play the FIFA World Cup next year that will be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico. This will be Ronaldo’s sixth appearance in the multi-nation tournament.

US President Donald Trump thanked the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for attending the state dinner and also said that his son Barron is a huge Cristiano fan. “My son is a big fan of Ronaldo and Barron got to meet him and I think he respects his father a little bit more now that I’ve introduced you. Thank you for being here, it’s an honor.”, said the US President.

The legendary player grabbed a lot of eyeballs for his recent interview with Piers Morgan. Ronaldo ended up saying a few things which has left football fans divided. The Portugal superstar had announced earlier this month that the 2025 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be the last of his illustrious international career.

Ronaldo’s previous appearance on American soil dates back to August 2014 in a game that he played as a substitute for Real Madrid in a friendly against Manchester United. The match was played in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The state dinner was also attended by other high-profile guests including the likes of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth, Blackstone Co-Founder Stephen A. Schwarzman, General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra, Ford Motor Executive Chairman William Clay Ford Jr., and US Vice President JD Vance as reported by The New York Times.

Cristiano was shown the red card during Portugal’s World Cup qualifier game against Ireland. He ended up missing the match against Armenia and he is also doubtful for a start in Portugal’s opening clash in the upcoming 2025-26 edition of the FIFA World Cup.