Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was at the White House on Tuesday as President Donald Trump hosted a glitzy dinner to honour Saudi Arabia`s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The soccer star was seated near the front of the East Room, not far from where the president and crown prince gave remarks to officials from both nations, along with major business leaders such as Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

Trump, in his speech, made a point of recognising Ronaldo, whom he said he introduced to his teenage son. Ronaldo has been the face of the Saudi soccer league since joining Saudi club Al-Nassr at the end of 2022 on a reported USD 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.