11/18/25 11:41:00
Printable Page
11/18 11:40 CST Soccer superstar Ronaldo to join Saudi crown prince during a
White House visit
Soccer superstar Ronaldo to join Saudi crown prince during a White House visit
By SEUNG MIN KIM and GRAHAM DUNBAR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) --- Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will be at the White
House on Tuesday, where Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is
meeting U.S. President Donald Trump for a pomp-filled visit.
Details of Ronaldo's involvement were first reported by MS NOW and confirmed to
The Associated Press by two people familiar with the event. They spoke on
condition of anonymity because the plans were confidential.
Ronaldo has been the face of the Saudi soccer league since joining Saudi club
Al-Nassr at the end of 2022 on a reported $200 million-a-year contract.
The 40-year-old Portuguese star signed a two-year extension in June with
Al-Nassr, which is majority owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that the
crown prince chairs.
Prince Mohammed is visiting the White House for the first time since a period
of diplomatic isolation began in 2018 after the killing of Washington Post
journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in a consulate office in Istanbul.
U.S. intelligence agencies determined that Prince Mohammed likely directed the
operation. He has denied involvement in the killing.
It will also be a rare U.S. visit for Ronaldo, who hasn't played in the country
since 2014.
In 2017, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that Ronaldo had years
earlier paid $375,000 in hush money to a woman who accused him of raping her at
a Las Vegas hotel in 2009. Ronaldo's lawyers maintained the sex was consensual
and no criminal charges ever were filed.
World Cup connection
Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup after FIFA and its president, Gianni
Infantino, shaped a fast-track bidding process two years ago that helped ensure
there was no rival bid.
Ronaldo promoted that bid, saying last December when the Saudi win was
confirmed "after what I see, I'm more convinced that 2034 will be the best
World Cup ever."
Ronaldo is set to play at a record sixth edition of the World Cup next year
after Portugal qualified Sunday for the tournament co-hosted by the U.S.,
Canada and Mexico. However, he likely will be banned by FIFA for Portugal's
first game next June after getting his first red card last week in 23 seasons
playing for the national team.
Portugal will learn its World Cup opponents on Dec. 5 at the tournament draw,
which Trump is set to attend at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Trump has closely aligned himself with the 2026 World Cup. In the Oval Office
he has a copy of the golden trophy loaned to him by FIFA President Gianni
Infantino.
Trump and Prince Mohammed are expected to seal defense and business deals worth
billions of dollars.
___
Dunbar contributed from Geneva
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
