Adam Clery Football Column. A newsletter that unpacks the absurdities and oddities of the beautiful gameThe ACFC newsletter: unpacking football’s absurditiesUnpack football’s oddities with the ACFC newsletterCristiano Ronaldo is set to pay a visit to Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday following Portugal’s qualification to next summer’s World Cup.Ronaldo is gearing up for what he says will “definitely” be his last major tournament before retirement, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.Trump has already welcomed Fifa president Gianni Infantino to the Oval Office on numerous occasions and after expressing a desire to meet the US president in his interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo is set to be the latest notable footballing personality to rub shoulders with Trump.It’s reported that three White House officials have confirmed Ronaldo’s planned visit on the same day Trump is scheduled to meet with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Given that Ronaldo plays his football in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, it remains unclear whether these meetings are connected.Ronaldo’s visit comes amid heightened talk of a planned warm-up friendly between the USA and Portugal ahead of the World Cup, which The Athletic report will soon be confirmed.The touted match is set to take place in March 2026 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, a game which was signed off on after Portugal sealed automatic qualification by thrashing Armenia 9-1 on Sunday.It would act as the first game Ronaldo has played on American soil in 12 years, last competing in the US in August 2014 when he came on as a substitute for Real Madrid against Manchester United in a friendly.The Portugal captain’s absence from the US also comes after sexual assault allegations were made against him by model Kathryn Mayorga during a holiday in Las Vegas in 2009. Ronaldo’s absence from the US is also due to sexual assault allegations made against him Ronaldo told Morgan he wanted to meet Trump to talk about world peace. “He is one of the guys who can help to change the world. One of the most important guys is the US President. open image in galleryRonald has expressed his desire to meet with Donald Trump (Getty Images)“If we can help each other to make this happen… I swear I cannot watch TV. Sometimes I start to see the news and I cannot… He is one of the guys I wish to meet to sit and have a nice talk.“If it is here, or in the US, wherever he wants, I know he was here in Saudi with our boss MBS (Mohammed bin Salman). I wish one day to meet him because he is one of the guys who can make things happen and I like people like that.”Ronaldo will be back in the States next summer for the World Cup, although he is likely to miss the first two matches of the group stage after being shown a straight red card for throwing an elbow into the back of Dara O’Shea in Portugal’s 2-1 loss to the Republic of Ireland last week.
2025-11-18 16:20:34
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