President Donald Trump recently hosted a special dinner at the White House for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and numerous big names from the entertainment, business, and athletics realms were invited to the formal event.

That includes legendary international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who reportedly met at the White House first with the president's youngest son, Barron, who has long been a huge fan of the game, according to the Daily Mail.

Barron, who once played for a developmental youth squad affiliated with Major League Soccer's D.C. United team during his father's first term as president, previously met several of that team's top players at a White House event, including former international star Wayne Rooney.

Barron met with top soccer star

The Daily Mail reported that Portuguese soccer star Ronaldo, who currently plays for Al-Nassr of the Saudi Pro League, was among the many famous and wealthy guests invited to President Trump's White House dinner on Tuesday in honor of Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman, commonly known as MBS.

"This room is loaded up with the biggest leaders in the world -- business, sports," Trump said in his brief speech right before he highlighted the attendance of the soccer star and revealed that he'd met with his son.

"My son is a big fan of Ronaldo," the president joked. "Barron got to meet him, and I think he respects his father a little bit more now -- just the fact that I introduced you. So I just want to thank you both for being here."

Ronaldo wanted to meet Trump

The Daily Mail noted that, during a trip to Europe in July, President Trump was gifted a Portuguese National Team soccer jersey by the Portuguese president of the European Union Council that had been signed by Ronaldo, and read, "To President Donald J. Trump, Playing for Peace."

Interestingly, Ronaldo had just sung Trump's praises last week during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, in which the star athlete said of the famous U.S. president, "He is one of the guys who can help to change the world. One of the most important guys is the U.S. President."

"He is one of the guys I wish to meet to sit and have a nice talk. If it is here, or in the U.S., wherever he wants, I know he was here in Saudi with our boss MBS," he added. "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."

Barron met Rooney, other D.C. United stars

In 2018, the U.K.'s Daily Express reported that Wayne Rooney, then a top star for England's national team who played for the D.C. United MLS club, visited the White House with his wife and children, where they received a private tour of the president's residence and, in addition to the president and first lady, met and took pictures with Barron, who was 12 at the time.

"Wayne is a huge name on D.C. United’s team, so obviously Donald invited them because of his son Barron and how much he loves the team," an unnamed source told the outlet. "The Rooneys are also a really nice family, and it’s an extra special welcome to Washington for them. It’s an experience none of them will ever forget."

The Express noted that earlier that year, several of D.C. United's players were invited to the White House Easter Egg Roll event, where they kicked a ball around on the White House lawn with Barron and others, with one of the players saying of the first son at the time, "He was very knowledgeable about soccer, knew about DC United, and was interested to know more."

Controversy has kept Ronaldo away

Separately, the Daily Mail highlighted a bit of controversy surrounding Ronaldo's visit to the White House, in that it was the soccer star's first time being spotted publicly in the U.S. since he was accused in 2017 of sexually assaulting an American woman back in 2009.

The player has steadfastly denied those allegations, though, and the woman previously accepted a generous settlement to drop her claim before reneging on that deal and filing a lawsuit to demand more money -- a suit that was subsequently dismissed by a judge in 2022.

Ronaldo will almost certainly be back in the U.S. next year with his Portugal team, first in March for an international friendly game against the U.S. squad, then again later in the summer as his nation seeks global glory in the quadrennial World Cup tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.