After making a name for himself in the two decades he spent at top-tier European clubs, Ronaldo signed up for the Riyadh-based Al Nassr after the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
US President Donald Trump warmly received Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday in a pomp-filled ceremony that included a military flyover and a thundering greeting from the US Marine band.
And the glitz didn't stop there as the day of discussions wrapped up with a black-tie dinner in the East Room of the White House featuring prominent guests such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Also seated at the banquet was Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently plays for the Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr.
After making a name for himself in the two decades he spent at top-tier European clubs, Ronaldo signed up for the Riyadh-based club after the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Ronaldo recently had warm words for Trump, calling him "one of the guys who can help change the world."
"(Trump is) one of the guys I want to meet. I think he can make things happen and I like people like that," Ronaldo said in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan.
And at the dinner, Trump singled out Ronaldo, thanking him for attending and saying his youngest son, Barron, is a "big fan".
"I think he respects his father a little bit more now, just the fact that I introduced you," Trump joked.
And the flattery also extended to social media with the White House posting a short video on its official X and Instagram accounts of Trump and Ronaldo walking along laughing, with the caption "Two GOATS."
GOAT, an acronym for "Greatest Of All Time," is widely used in sports circles.
Ronaldo reshared the video on his own Instagram account.
Business deals
The crown prince, known as MBS, announced that Saudi Arabia was increasing its planned investments in the US to $1 trillion (€870 billion), up from $600 billion (€519 billion) that the Saudi government announced it would invest in the country when Trump visited Riyadh in May.
Echoing Trump, the crown prince called the US the "hottest country on the planet" for foreign investment.
"What you're creating is not about an opportunity today. It’s also about long-term opportunity," Prince bin Salman said.
Trump announced he was designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally. The designation, while largely symbolic, provides foreign partners with specific benefits in defence, trade and security cooperation.