Cristiano Ronaldo To Meet With President Donald Trump

Superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is scheduled to be received by United States President Donald Trump at the White House later on today.

The 40-year-old Portuguese footballer will reportedly attend as part of a delegation from Saudi Arabia headed by Mohammed bin Salman.

The crown prince is making his first visit to the United States since the CIA concluded that he had approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

According to White House correspondent Jake Traylor, Ronaldo is expected to be greeted by Trump later today.

Ronaldo has not appeared in public photographs in the USA since he faced rape accusations in 2017 from Kathryn Mayorga, a former American teacher.

In a 2017 interview with the German publication Der Spiegel, Mayorga disclosed details of the alleged sexual assault, stating that Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009.

The American woman had apparently settled with Ronaldo out of court in 2010, but came forward with her claims again seven years later in an attempt to obtain millions more than the $375,000 (£304,000) payment she had previously accepted.

The legal action against Ronaldo, who has always strongly and consistently rejected the allegations, was thrown out by a US judge in 2022 on the grounds that the accuser’s lawyer had used leaked and stolen documents.

Earlier this month, Ronaldo called on Trump to assist in bringing peace around the world by inscribing a personal message on a Portugal national team jersey for him.

During the G7 summit in Canada, Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council (who is Portuguese), presented Trump with the ‘Ronaldo 7’ shirt.

The former Real Madrid icon had written the words: ‘Playing for peace’. And in his post on X regarding the gift, Costa stated: ‘To President Donald Trump. Playing for peace. As a team.’

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli