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Claim: A Facebook user claims Trump wants Ronaldo present at the Club World Cup.
Verdict: False. Trump’s public statements so far about the forthcoming CWC were his intention to attend a few tournament matches and his faith in Andrew Giuliani to spearhead the CWC presidential task force as its executive director. Besides, no credible news outlet reported the US president’s alleged desire.
Full Text
The Federation Internationale du Football Association (FIFA)’s maiden edition of its prestigious anticipated tournament, the Club World Cup, will kick off on June 14, 2025, in the United States of America.
Thirty-two leading clubs from the six world football confederations, including the Asian Football Federation (AFC), Confederation of African Football (CAF), Confederation of North, Central America and Carribean Association Football (CONCACAF), and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), are expected to compete at the tournament.
Donald Trump, sworn in as America’s 47th president on Jan. 20, 2025, would witness his first major world assignment handed over to him when he welcomes the 32 clubs worldwide into the United States for the much-touted tournament.
Meanwhile, a Facebook handle, Real Madrid Trolling Clubs since 1902, claims Trump has expressed the desire to have five-time Balon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, grace the occasion. Back in 2018, Trump labelled Ronaldo as the “greatest player” when he met Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the White House.
The claim was reiterated on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Following the sensation that such an alleged announcement creates in the public and the reputational damage it poses if found untrue, DUBAWA verified the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a keyword search on Trump’s public statements concerning the football tournament and discovered that the US president had only said it was an honour that the United States would host both the Club World Cup and the World Cup.
He expressed this when the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, visited Trump at the White House after the US president signed an executive order to create a task force to oversee the coordination of the tournament’s activities. This development was reported on March 8, 2025.
Trump further said he would like to attend a few tournament matches.
“I would like to go to, certainly, more than one. We’ll be making the rounds,” Trump had expressed.
However, the outlet never reported that the US president expressed a personal desire to witness Ronaldo present at the global tournament.
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) also reports that Trump has only been focused on appointing the task force that would coordinate the tournament, recently handpicking Andrew Giuliani, the former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani’s son, as executive director of the CWC presidential task force.
Moreover, Ronaldo’s participation in the tournament remains uncertain as his Saudi Arabian league side, Al Nassr, is not included among the teams that would travel to the United States to play in the tournament. World Soccer Talk reports that the 40-year-old Portuguese has only fuelled speculation over a possible switch to league rival Al Hilal, who would participate in the tournament. The speculation is further bolstered by the fact that the football star missed a week-long training session with Al Nassr. However, a possible transfer has remained a speculation, not a concrete development.
We also checked if credible news outlets had reported the Facebook user’s claim, but found no corroborating reports.
DUBAWA viewed Ronaldo’s X page— a medium the player actively uses to communicate significant developments about him— and discovered he made no public reaction to President Trump’s alleged statement.
Conclusion
The claim is false. There is no evidence that Trump communicated his desire for Ronaldo to be present at the Club World Cup.
