Cristiano Ronaldo has made his first visit to the United States since 2016 as he attended a black-tie dinner at the White House alongside Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and other notable figures including tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The Portuguese footballer currently plays for Al-Nassr football club in Saudi Pro League and has become the face of modernisation drive under the leadership of de-facto leader of Saudi Arabia.
President Trump praised the G.O.A.T footballer, saying, “It is an honour to host Ronaldo,” adding that his son, Baron, is a big fan of Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s last visit was in 2016 and rape allegations against him surfaced in 2017.
A woman named Kathryn Mayorga alleged that the superstar footballer sexually assaulted her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009.
The accusation was denied by the five time Ballon d’Or winner via a statement in 2018.
He said, “Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in.”
US prosecutors dropped the case in 2019, stating the claims could not be proven and that Ronaldo would not face any charges.
Ronaldo became the world’s first football billionaire player in June this year after signing a new two-year deal with Al-Nassr FC for $400 million.
Bloomberg reports his net worth to be about $1.4 billion.
