Donald Trump’s meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo capped off in a typically odd manner
Ronaldo has previously said he is eager to meet Trump and even bragged that he was more famous than him
Trump’s meetings with a delegation from Saudi Arabia, including global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, this week culminated in the president in a typically surreal way.
In the early hours of Thursday, Trump posted an AI video showing him playing soccer in the Oval Office with the Portuguese star.
The president posted the strange scene on Truth Social, shortly after dining with Ronaldo and the controversial Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Ronaldo was part of MBS’s entourage, in the Middle Eastern country’s first state visit since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
They were wined and dined by the president at a lavish dinner, which was also attended by Trump’s frenemy Elon Musk.
"My son is a big fan of Ronaldo,” Trump chuckled, while addressing the diners. "And Barron got to meet him, and I think he respects his father a little bit more now, just the fact that I introduced you."
Although Ronaldo has not yet publicly commented on the dinner, he reposted a slow-motion video of himself and Trump walking down the halls of the White House. The video was captioned, “TWO GOATS, CR7 x 45/47.”
The bizarre scene is set in the Oval Office and shows the president and the Portuguese soccer icon heading a ball, which descends from the ceiling.
At one stage, can be seen scurrying about the Resolute Desk, passing the ball between them.
The AI-generated Ronaldo and Trump even play kick-ups, placidly keeping the ball in the air with their knees while grinning.
An especially mobile, AI-generated Trump even spins on his heel to intercept the soccer ball before kicking it at the viewer. The screen shatters, ending the strange scene.
Trump posted the video at 5.48 am on Truth Social, just two days after the real-life Ronaldo visited the White House.
Ronaldo’s visit to the White House was the soccer player’s first public appearance in the United States since 2014, several years after he was accused of rape. He has vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
His visit divided fans and garnered mixed reactions to his cozying up to Trump.
“I have never seen him take an L, let alone an L of this magnitude in my life,” one X user wrote. “Incredibly sad day.”
“Two legends meet,” wrote another.
Speaking to Piers Morgan earlier this month, Ronaldo opened up about the Portuguese European Council gifting Trump a soccer shirt emblazoned with the number 7, Ronaldo’s number. The t-shirt was signed, “To President Donald J Trump, playing for peace, Ronaldo.”
“One of the guys I want to meet,” Ronaldo said, referring to Trump, before Morgan offered to “make that happen.”
“I wish one day to meet him, to sit with him, because he is one of the person that I really like him,” the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star said. “I think it can make things happen and I like people like that.”
The soccer star also said that he will tell Trump “something nobody knows,” but refused to elaborate on what he was referring to. All he would say is that it was something they “share.”
He went on to claim that he was more famous than Trump. “They know me more than him,” he bragged.
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