Cristiano Ronaldo’s appearance at a White House dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump has triggered an online backlash after a widely shared selfie showed the footballer posing with Elon Musk and other high profile figures during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington.
The Portugal captain, now 40 and playing for Saudi club Al Nassr, travelled to the United States as part of the Saudi delegation for Tuesday’s events, which marked Mohammed bin Salman’s first trip to the White House since the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump welcomed the crown prince with an elaborate programme that included a ceremonial arrival, an Oval Office meeting and a formal black tie dinner in the East Room.
Ronaldo arrived at the evening reception with his fiancée Georgina Rodríguez, wearing a black tuxedo and taking a prominent seat among political and business leaders. Reports from the event state that he was placed near Tesla and X owner Elon Musk and United States Vice President JD Vance, with other guests including Apple chief executive Tim Cook and senior members of Trump’s cabinet.
The moment that pushed the gathering into global trending columns came later, when technology investor David Sacks posted a selfie that Ronaldo had taken. In the photograph, the forward holds a phone at arm’s length while Musk leans in at his side. Also visible are Sacks himself, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Rodríguez and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, with the White House’s ornate interior in the background. Sacks captioned the image “Great night!” and the picture quickly circulated across X and other platforms.
Football fan accounts amplified the image, describing it as a once in a lifetime line up and sharing clips of Ronaldo navigating the crowded East Room. One popular account, TotalCristiano, posted footage of the player surrounded by guests with the caption “All eyes on Cristiano Ronaldo at the White House,” and later shared the selfie itself, crediting Ronaldo with taking the picture.
During his speech at the dinner, Trump singled Ronaldo out for praise. According to multiple reports from the event, he told attendees that the room was filled with “the greatest leaders in the world” from business and sport, before highlighting his son Barron’s admiration for the forward. Trump said Barron was “a big fan of Ronaldo” and added that his son respected him “a little more now” because he had been able to introduce him to the player.
The footballer did not speak publicly at the event and has not commented on the selfie. However, his presence alongside Trump, Mohammed bin Salman and Musk has drawn sharp responses from some supporters and human rights observers, who see the image as symbolic of overlapping controversies involving all three men.
For Ronaldo, the visit underlined his deepening connection with Saudi Arabia. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward moved to Al Nassr at the end of 2022 on a contract widely reported to be among the most lucrative in football, becoming the most prominent face of the Saudi Pro League’s global expansion. Saudi authorities have made sport a pillar of their Vision 2030 programme, investing heavily in football, boxing, golf and Formula One in an effort to diversify the economy and reshape the country’s international image.
The crown prince’s trip to Washington was itself sensitive. It was his first visit to the United States since Khashoggi’s murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an assassination that US intelligence agencies concluded he had approved, a claim he has consistently denied. During a joint appearance at the White House earlier in the day, Trump defended his guest, telling a reporter that the crown prince “knew nothing about it” and suggesting it was inappropriate to “embarrass our guest” with questions about the killing. Mohammed bin Salman described the death as a “huge mistake” and said steps had been taken to ensure such an incident did not happen again.
It was against that backdrop that the “million dollar selfie”, as one tabloid described it, was taken. For critics, Ronaldo’s decision to pose cheerfully with Musk and other officials at a dinner honouring the crown prince underscored concerns about sport being used to project a more favourable image of Saudi Arabia internationally. Human rights groups have long accused Riyadh of using high profile events and star athletes to distract from issues including restrictions on dissent, the mass jailing of activists and the legacy of the Khashoggi case.
Musk’s presence added another layer. The billionaire has faced intense scrutiny for his stewardship of X, where watchdogs have documented the spread of antisemitic and extremist content, and was recently criticised after appearing to mimic a Nazi style gesture during a public event, an act he said had been misinterpreted as he denied any sympathy for far right ideology.
The combination of figures in the frame helped turn the selfie into a flashpoint online. Beneath the Tyla Facebook post that highlighted the picture and described it as a “sad” new Ronaldo selfie, many users expressed disappointment at seeing one of the world’s most recognisable athletes smiling alongside Musk at a White House dinner for Mohammed bin Salman. One commenter wrote, “What was he thinking?? not good for his image at all…”, adding a money bag emoji to suggest the appearance was financially motivated. Another wrote, “Shame, very shame I wish Cristiano Ronaldo know better,” while a third urged fellow supporters to “stop idolising someone who chases a ball”. Others defended the player, with one user responding, “He’s allowed to have friends,” and another arguing that political views should not define an individual.
On X, reactions ranged from awe to anger. Some fan accounts described the photograph as the “selfie of the year” and celebrated the convergence of football, technology and politics. Others highlighted Ronaldo’s long standing role as a Saudi sporting ambassador and questioned whether a global celebrity with hundreds of millions of followers should give such public backing to leaders accused of serious human rights abuses.
The episode is the latest example of Ronaldo’s career intersecting with political and legal controversy. In addition to his current role in Saudi football, he previously faced scrutiny in Spain over tax offences related to image rights during his time at Real Madrid, a case that ended with a suspended prison sentence and a substantial fine. In the United States, he has long denied a rape allegation stemming from a 2009 encounter in Las Vegas. A criminal investigation was dropped and a civil lawsuit was later dismissed, but court filings and media coverage kept the issue in the public eye for years.
Trump’s warm tribute to the forward also comes after Ronaldo publicly expressed admiration for the president. In a recent interview in Saudi Arabia, he described Trump as someone who could be a “global changemaker” and said he would like to meet him in person, a wish realised at the White House dinner. The event allowed Trump to present himself alongside one of the most famous athletes on the planet at a moment when he is deepening ties with Riyadh and promoting a series of multibillion dollar investment and defence agreements with the kingdom.
For Mohammed bin Salman, the presence of Ronaldo and other celebrities at the dinner reinforced the message that Saudi Arabia remains an indispensable partner for the United States despite long running concerns about human rights and regional policy. Saudi officials and Trump aides highlighted new cooperation deals in areas such as defence, nuclear energy and artificial intelligence, while the crown prince reportedly spoke about increasing Saudi investments in the US to as much as one trillion dollars over the coming years.
Ronaldo himself has said little in public about the political ramifications of his Saudi move. Since signing for Al Nassr, he has focused on on field performance and commercial partnerships, regularly promoting tourism and lifestyle campaigns linked to the kingdom. The White House selfie, however, has drawn attention back to the broader context of his role as a global face of Saudi soft power.
In football terms, the trip also marks a rare return to the US for the five time Ballon d’Or winner. He has not played a match there since a pre season tour with Real Madrid in 2014, and his busy club schedule in Saudi Arabia, combined with his age, means further visits are likely to be limited. With Ronaldo already stating that the 2026 World Cup in North America will “definitely” be his last, the sight of him in Washington alongside political leaders and corporate chiefs underscores the final phase of a career that has increasingly straddled sport, business and geopolitics.
For now, the image of Ronaldo holding a phone in the East Room, with Musk leaning into the frame and dignitaries clustered behind them, has become one of the most circulated photographs of the crown prince’s visit. To admirers, it encapsulates the star power of a player who remains a magnet for attention wherever he goes. To critics, it is a snapshot of how elite sport, technology and political power continue to converge, and of the moral compromises that can accompany those alliances. The selfie has ensured that Ronaldo’s brief appearance at the White House will be remembered less for his meeting with Trump than for the debate over who he chose to stand beside when he pressed the shutter.