Cristiano Ronaldo faces backlash after meeting Trump at White House dinner

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a wave of criticism after joining US President Donald Trump at a White House dinner for the Saudi Arabian delegation.

The Al-Nassr forward travelled as part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s entourage during the kingdom’s first state visit to Washington since the murder of Middle East Eye journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Ronaldo has become a prominent figure in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to raise the profile of its football league. As captain of the club, which is owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, he is seen as part of a broader push to modernise the image of sports in the country, although some critics have accused him of helping to “sports wash” Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

At the dinner, Ronaldo was photographed greeting guests and taking selfies with several high-profile officials including tech billionaire Elon Musk. 

🚨🤳🏼 Cristiano Ronaldo’s selfie after visiting president Donald Trump at the White House.@DavidSacks 📸 pic.twitter.com/dnBw0f3Z4B

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 19, 2025

Following the meeting, Ronaldo also posted a photograph from the Oval Office with President Trump, thanking him for the “warm welcome” and expressing hope to “inspire new generations to build a future defined by courage, responsibility and lasting peace".

While the post appeared to be a warm personal and diplomatic gesture, the picture appeared to be the final straw for fans, who felt blindsided by the footballer’s embrace of a political figure widely associated with hardline immigration policies and staunch support for Israel. 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

One widely shared response by sports journalist Leyla Hamed questioned Ronaldo’s decision to meet President Trump: “So now it’s just completely fine to post videos with war criminals @Cristiano?” 

In another post, she attached a photograph of Kareem Abu Houli, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy whose abdomen was "torn apart" while playing football in a Ronaldo shirt after an Israeli air strike hit his neighbour’s home in the Gaza Strip in 2024. 

Ronaldo casually laughing with the man enabling a genocide. Not very pro-Palestine like so many of his fans insist he is. https://t.co/vROyn5177p

— S🕊️🇸🇪 (@8bdrssss) November 19, 2025

Other users reacted in the comments of the Instagram post with blunt disbelief.

“Bro what are you doing there,” one wrote, while another said: “Unfollowed CR7 so quick.”

Some comments expressed deeper dismay about his legacy, suggesting that, for them, Ronaldo’s meeting with President Trump had damaged his reputation as the “GOAT,” a nickname fans often use to call him the “greatest” footballer “of all time”.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by The White House (@whitehouse)

One fan commented on a post by the official White House account, “If you scored a million goals it wouldn’t make a difference. Congrats on ruining your legacy,” while another supporter described the encounter as “an L of this magnitude” - meaning a significant loss - unlike anything they had seen from him before. 

Others highlighted the broader influence of Ronaldo’s platform, noting that public figures who meet sitting heads of state can carry significant attention and scrutiny.

his fans will lap this up as ‘cool and edgy’, but it’s genuinely disgusting.

trump is a bottom 2 man on earth alongside that israeli rat netanyahu and yet this portuguese homelander is willingly hanging around & laughing with him.

strange. https://t.co/nfSsncrTmG

— zaman 🇾🇪 (@yamufc_) November 19, 2025

“This might not seem like a big deal, but Ronaldo is one of the most influential people on the planet. Trump being publicly accepted by athletes and prominent figures goes a long way in shifting public perception and removing the stigma around supporting Trump,” said one user.

The meeting comes just a month after Ronaldo told Piers Morgan that he admired Trump and hoped to meet him, while also expressing concern for Gaza. “He’s someone I really like,” he said. “I wish that war goes to the way of peace.”

Not all responses however were critical. Some fans framed the meeting as meaningful, noting that Ronaldo was named after former US President Ronald Reagan and describing the White House visit as a personal milestone.

Others argued that the backlash was disproportionate, insisting that meeting Trump did not mean Ronaldo had “chosen a side” and that attending state events does not necessarily indicate support for the host country’s policies.

A smaller group took a lighter view, joking online with acronyms referring to the president and top sports players as “Potus and Gotus".

Social media and landing photo: Instagram/@christiano