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.
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.
Many critics claim Saudi’s investment is aimed at gaining legitimacy and deflecting attention from its human rights record and the environmental impact of its oil industry – a practice referred to as ‘sportswashing’.
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.
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.
