Superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is expected at the White House on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 as U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a high-profile Saudi delegation led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The 40-year-old Portuguese athlete is reportedly part of the Saudi entourage accompanying the crown prince, who is visiting the United States for the first time since the CIA concluded he approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
According to White House reporter Jake Traylor, Ronaldo will be welcomed by President Trump later today.
The visit marks Ronaldo’s first public appearance in the U.S. in years.
He has not been photographed in the country since former American teacher Kathryn Mayorga accused him in 2017 of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009 a claim Ronaldo has consistently denied.
Mayorga received a $375,000 settlement in 2010 but resurfaced with the allegations in 2017 seeking further compensation.
In 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the lawsuit after ruling that her lawyer had relied on leaked and stolen documents.
Earlier November, Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines when he sent Trump a Portugal jersey bearing a handwritten message urging the former president to help promote peace globally.
The gesture was made through European Council head António Costa at the G7 summit in Canada.
The jersey, signed by Ronaldo, read: “Playing for peace.” Costa posted the moment on X with the message: “To President Donald Trump. Playing for peace. As a team.”
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