Ronaldo arrived in Washington DC as part of a Saudi Arabian delegation led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This marked his first public appearance in the United States since 2017, a year when an American teacher accused him of rape. Ronaldo consistently denied the allegations, and the case was dismissed in 2022 because the accuser's lawyer used illegally leaked documents.

Ronaldo holds a golden key gifted by President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, White House, Washington DC, US on 18/11. Photo: White House

At the White House, Trump welcomed Ronaldo and his fiancee, Georgina Rodriguez. He gave them a tour of the Oval Office and posed for photos with the distinctive gift. An official later confirmed to the Daily Mail that the item was indeed a White House key.

This key is a personal gift from Trump, diverging from the practice of previous presidents. He began presenting this gift in 2020, with the first recipient being then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Other prominent figures who have received the key include billionaire Elon Musk and former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. Ronaldo is the first sports figure to receive this honor.

In another Oval Office photograph, Ronaldo is seen holding a model of a B-2 stealth bomber, the type Trump used in a 6/2025 campaign targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. A B-2 bomber costs approximately 2 billion USD. That campaign deployed 7 aircraft, dropping 13-ton bunker-buster bombs, along with 30 Tomahawk missiles, on sites including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

Following the meeting, President Trump posted on Truth Social, describing Ronaldo as "a great person," and included an artificial intelligence video depicting the two playing football in the Oval Office.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, detailed in his 2022 memoir that his father-in-law personally designed the key as a gift for special guests. During this visit, Ronaldo also attended a reception at the White House for the Saudi delegation, alongside prominent officials and business figures from both nations.

Hoang An (according to Daily Mail)