Cristiano Ronaldo got his wish in meeting Donald Trump but his huge devoted fanbase has been left divided by him mingling with the President of the United States.
The Portugal soccer star was welcomed into the Oval Office this week, visiting DC as part of a Saudi delegation hosted by the President. It’s the first time that Ronaldo has been pictured publicly in the United States since a 2017 rape allegation, which he has always vehemently denied.
He got his pictures with Trump, too – so did fiancee Georgina, who flaunted her dazzling $3m engagement ring on Trump’s desk. But not all of Ronaldo’s fans were thrilled to see him cosying up to someone as controversial as Trump, with some saying it was a sad moment in the career of the 40-year-old.
‘Been following and praising the GOAT (greatest of all time) since 2006,’ one fan commented on his Instagram post showing him strolling down the Presidential Walk of Fame with Trump.
‘I have never seen him take an L (loss), let alone an L of this magnitude in my life. Incredibly sad day.’
Another fan wrote: ‘If you needed more proof that Messi is better, now you don’t have to question it ever again.’
Cristiano Ronaldo and fiancee Georgina Rodriguez pose with Donald Trump in the Oval Office
The Portuguese soccer star poses alongside the president on his visit to the White House
But not all of Ronaldo’s fans were happy to see him mingling with the US President
Other fans responded with comments such as ‘Cristiano, this card was not good’ and ‘Bro what are you doing there.’
But there were plenty of other Ronaldo fans who were thrilled to see him standing alongside the most powerful man on the planet.
‘My president and my favorite player,’ said one on a picture of Trump in the Oval Office with Ronaldo and his fiancee Geogrina Rodriguez, who was made sure that her $3million engagement ring was on show for all to see.
A different comment read: ‘One of the very few soccer stars who clearly has courage and a clear mind! And who doesn’t parrot the manipulative, lying media.
‘Even though this action will certainly bring you fame, thank you very much for standing up for peace and supporting this great president.’
Ronaldo headed to the US alongside a Saudi delegation fronted by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump’s meeting with Bin Salman on Tuesday marked the first time that the Saudi Crown Prince has been in the United States since US intelligence claimed he approved the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Trump sensationally defended the Crown Prince when he was quizzed by a reporter on Khashoggi’s murder in the Oval Office earlier on Tuesday, scolding the question and, defying the US intelligence report which emerged during his first tenure as president, said Bin Salman ‘knew nothing about it’.
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Ronaldo pictured in hysterics while strolling with Trump by the President’s Walk of Fame
It is the first time that Ronaldo has been pictured publicly in the United States since 2017
Meanwhile the 40-year-old Ronaldo, a player for Portugal and Saudi team Al-Nassr, has not been photographed publicly in the USA since being accused of rape in 2017 by former American teacher Kathryn Mayorga.
Revealing details of the alleged sexual assault in a 2017 interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel, Mayorga claimed Ronaldo raped her at a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.
The American woman had reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo in 2010, but spoke out with her accusations seven years later in an effort to seek millions more than the $375,000 (£304,000) sum she had received.
The lawsuit against Ronaldo, who has consistently and vehemently denied the allegations, was dismissed by a US judge in 2022 because the accuser’s lawyer relied on leaked and stolen records.
