During his visit, the Portuguese star received the key to the White House and was later dubbed a "genius" by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The 40-year-old footballing star attended a dinner hosted by the President of the United States of America for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, on Tuesday, and hours earlier met privately with Trump in the Oval Office, even receiving the key to the White House.

Accompanied by his partner Georgina Rodríguez, Cristiano Ronaldo had the opportunity to speak with the US leader, for whom he had previously confessed to feeling admiration.

Credits: Instagram;

The meeting took place away from the eyes of journalists, but on Wednesday afternoon, the White House released some photos showing the good humour of CR7 and Trump.

The 40-year-old Portuguese striker also shared a video on social media, where he walks alongside Trump in the hallway leading to the Oval Office, which accumulated millions of views in less than 24 hours.

Trump decided to design a White House key to offer to his most special guests, explained the New York Post in 2022. Inserted in a wooden box, this golden key also has a seal and an image of the building engraved inside.

Only in very particular cases does the President of the United States make such an offer, but Cristiano Ronaldo is not a unique case. Before the national team captain, Elon Musk, the technology magnate, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, also received the same symbolic object.

Ronaldo is a "genius"

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was questioned about Cristiano Ronaldo's visit to Trump, but refused to comment on the role of the Saudi Arabian ambassador played by the Portuguese star, according to a report by NM.

"We know he is a genius, in fact. Portugal owes a lot, in terms of prestige, to Cristiano Ronaldo. Being part of another country's delegation? That concerns the conditions, which I don't know, of the invitations to the White House," said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on the sidelines of the SME Innovation Meeting, promoted by COTEC Portugal, in Leiria, on Wednesday afternoon.

Cristiano Ronaldo made a point of thanking Donald Trump for the way he was received at the White House. In a message left on social media, the Portuguese striker for Al Nassr also said he was "ready to do" his part in inspiring "new generations to build a future defined by courage, responsibility and lasting peace."

However, the reasons for this visit to the USA remain unclear. It's true that CR7 was part of Mohammad bin Salman's delegation, who also owns Al Nassr, but the truth is that he was left out of the meeting between the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump.

Cristiano Ronaldo's participation in this diplomatic visit from Saudi Arabia is mainly limited to the dinner that took place hours later, where he met with several political figures from the United States – and there's even a selfie that quickly went viral.