Footballer and Portuguese national hero Cristiano Ronaldo attended a White House black-tie dinner alongside the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia yesterday, Tuesday 18 November.
Speaking prior to 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 - part of a larger bid to improve their PR.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is keen 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 suggest that the Saudi's investment campaign 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 by academics as 'sportswashing'.
Turning to the Portuguese soccer star, Trump told the gathered guests: "My son is a big fan of Ronaldo". "And Barron (Trump) got to meet him, and I think he respects his father a little bit more now, just the fact that I introduced you."
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. American national 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.
Last week, in an interview with Trump's old chum Piers Morgan, a British journalist and broadcaster, Ronaldo said he hoped to meet Trump and praised his peacemaking efforts.
'He is one of the guys who can help to change the world,' Ronaldo said. 'One of the most important guys is the US President.
'He is one of the guys I wish to meet to sit and have a nice talk. If it is here, or in the US, wherever he wants”, he added. 'I wish one day to meet him because he is one of the guys who can make things happen and I like people like that.'
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.
Source: BBC/White House
