Cristiano Ronaldo, the internationally renowned soccer star, is scheduled to meet former U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, a high-profile encounter following the athlete’s public admiration for the former American leader.
The meeting is set to occur on Tuesday morning in Washington. Ronaldo is expected to arrive in the U.S. capital later that afternoon.
The visit comes days after Portugal secured its qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Sports news outlet The Athletic has separately reported a friendly match between the Portuguese and U.S. national teams is being finalized for March.
Ronaldo’s White House reception coincides with a separate meeting scheduled for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the same day.
The soccer icon previously expressed a strong desire to meet Trump during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo told Morgan, “He is one of the most important people, he is one of the people I want to meet.”
He added, “I wish to do it one day, if I have the opportunity. I wish to meet him one day to sit with him, he is one of the people I really like because I think he can get things done and I like people like that.”
The scheduled meeting fulfills Ronaldo’s previously stated wish.
This is not the first time a Portuguese athlete has been received at the White House. In 1984, marathon gold medalist Carlos Lopes, accompanied by Sporting Club president João Rocha, met President Ronald Reagan.