"Thank you for being here, it's an honor": Trump praises Cristiano Ronaldo during his dinner at the White House
Ronaldo’s appearance at the White House was no surprise; he had recently told interviewer Piers Morgan that he was interested in meeting with Trump.
Cristiano Ronaldo during a qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup.
Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo attended a dinner at the White House on Tuesday between President Donald Trump and several business and political personalities, including Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with whom he held a meeting in the evening hours. During the dinner, the Republican leader had several words for the Portugal superstar, whom he praised and confessed an interesting detail about his son, Barron Trump.
"You know, my son is a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. We have Ronaldo here; I think my son respects his father a little more now that I've introduced you. Thank you for being here; it's an honor," said Trump, who also commented that he recently introduced his son to Ronaldo, noting that the youngster was extremely impressed during the meeting, as it was about his top soccer idol.
Ronaldo had already praised Trump during the interview with Piers Morgan.
Far from being a surprise, the presence of the Portuguese star in the White House, the truth is that Ronaldo commented during a recent interview with British journalist Piers Morgan that he was interested in having a meeting with Trump, considering him the most powerful person in the world. The striker, who is the top scorer in the history of soccer with more than 950 goals, explained to Morgan that he hoped to meet soon with the Republican leader to talk personally about his efforts to achieve peace in several conflict regions.
"If the world is at peace, that’s our goal. He’s one of the people who can change or help change the world. And that’s my main objective: to meet Trump and talk about world peace. If you can make it happen, he’s someone I’d really like to sit down with," commented the 40-year-old star, who added that he admires Trump's leadership and his determination to "make things happen."
Likewise, Ronaldo told Morgan, "Here, in the United States—wherever it happens—I’d like to meet him. I know he’s been to Saudi Arabia. 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."
During the dinner, Ronaldo was among several well-known guests, including X owner Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Paramount Global CEO David Ellison, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, and top executives from Ford and Chevrolet.
Ronaldo's World Cup start in jeopardy
Bearing in mind that the expulsion for aggression in which Ronaldo was the protagonist carries a three-match suspension, the striker has already served one match in the last round of qualifiers in which Portugal won and qualified for the World Cup, but the next two would correspond to the first two rounds of the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
To avoid this scenario, different media have revealed that the Portuguese Football Federation plans to file an appeal to UEFA to ensure that the expulsion deserves only one match suspension instead of three, arguing that Ronaldo's elbow to the Irish defender was the result of repeated provocations that he would have received during the game.
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