Cristiano Ronaldo

Claim: A verified account on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that Donald Trump wants Cristiano Ronaldo to be present at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. 

Verdict: False! There is no credible evidence supporting this claim. It originates from a fan-operated account and lacks corroboration from official statements or reputable media sources.

Full Text

On May 14, 2025, a post by the fan’s account @TeamCRonaldo on X (formerly Twitter) went viral. The post claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump wants Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo to be present at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will be hosted in the United States. The post was styled as breaking news and included photos of Trump and Ronaldo, accompanied by an American flag emoji. The tweet quickly amassed over 225,000 views, 15,000 likes, and hundreds of reposts and comments.

The account further cited “reliable journalist Bruno Andrade” of MaisFutebol, a Portuguese sports media outlet, as the source of the claim. However, no direct link, video, quote, or article from Andrade or MaisFutebol was provided to substantiate the statement. 

The news was met with mixed reactions online. Some users expressed excitement or curiosity, while others questioned the claim’s authenticity. In response to a query under the post, Grok AI, a conversational fact-checking tool on X, stated that there was no credible evidence backing the report.

This incident is not uncommon on social media, where celebrity and political fan pages often create speculative or fabricated headlines to drive engagement. When such claims involve high-profile individuals like Donald Trump or Cristiano Ronaldo, they can easily mislead large audiences if not quickly fact-checked.

Verification

To verify this claim, DUBAWA undertook the following: 

1. Origin of the Claim: The claim was first made by the @TeamCRonaldo account on X, which, while verified, is a fan-operated page not affiliated with Ronaldo’s management, FIFA, or Donald Trump. The page did not provide verifiable proof, such as a video clip, interview, official statement, or news article, despite referencing a “reliable journalist.”
2. No Article from Bruno Andrade or MaisFutebol: DUBAWA conducted a search on the MaisFutebol website and found that no article or report from Bruno Andrade on such was published on this website, which could verify the claim made by the claimant as its primary source. 

3. Lack of Media Coverage: DUBAWA searched for major international news organisations, including BBC Sport,  CNN, Reuters, Fox Sport, ESPN, Sky Sports, and FIFA. None of these outlets reported the claim or mentioned any recent interaction between Trump and Ronaldo regarding the 2025 Club World Cup. Such high-profile information would not miss the attention of these international news organisations, nor would they be silent on it.  

4. Check on Donald Trump’s Official Platforms: DUBAWA’s review of Donald Trump’s official website and Truth social page showed no statement or endorsement regarding Cristiano Ronaldo or the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. No press release or speech has been issued recently that mentions the football star or the event.

5. No Statement from Cristiano Ronaldo: There has been no response or acknowledgement from Cristiano Ronaldo’s camp, official representatives, or verified social media accounts concerning the claim. The former link is where he updates things about his career development and personal adventures, while the latter is his YouTube channel, which has recently gained traction on social media. Any such report, if accurate, will not miss either of these channels. 

Conclusion 

The claim that Donald Trump wants Cristiano Ronaldo to be present at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is false. It originated from a fan account with no verifiable source and has not been supported by any official statement, media coverage, or acknowledgement from the parties involved. It is a classic example of speculative content presented as breaking news to attract attention. Readers are urged to rely on credible news platforms and official channels when dealing with sensitive or high-profile claims. 

Claim: A Facebook post claims Cristiano Ronaldo’s “sui” trademark celebration has been banned in Argentina. 

Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s findings reveal that no law has banned the sui celebration in Argentinian Football. FIFA rules state that a national FA must seek permission from the International Football Association Board (IFAB) before modifications. The Law of the Game 24/25 edition does not capture the ban on the Sui celebration.

Full Text

Cristiano Ronaldo, a world football icon, is the originator of the trademark SUI celebration. The Portuguese is believed to have first screamed SUI after winning the 2014 Ballon d’Or, his third time winning the individual award. He is noted for pulling off the celebration anytime he scores. His fans and several other football and sports athletes worldwide have copied the celebration.

In an interview, the official global brand ambassador for LiveScore told Goal.com that SUII means “yes” in Portuguese. 

“It seems to have grown into its own global phenomenon—and I love when I see other players doing it, or people send me videos of people in other sports doing it or little kids doing it. It’s great. It means yes, very simple, but meaning it strongly,” he added in an interview with LiveScore.

A Facebook user, Waheed Aryans, claims in a post that the iconic football goal celebration by Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo has been banned in Argentinian football.

As of  Feb. 3, 2025, the post had garnered 2,600 likes and reactions, 489 comments, and 249 shares. 

DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim in its efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation.

Verification 

According to the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the game’s laws are similar worldwide.

“The same laws apply to every match in every confederation, country, town, and village and, apart from the modifications permitted by The IFAB,” page 17 of the Laws of the Game 2021/2022 posits. 

National Football Associations (FA) are allowed some modifications, but only with the approval of the IFAB. The national FA must furnish the International Football Association Board with the reasons for the modification and at which levels.

Goal celebrations are part of football after netting the ball. However, FIFA does not allow goal celebrations characterised by excessive behaviour. The World Football regulator changed the law on goal celebrations in 2004. Any player who removes their shirt during a goal celebration was administered a yellow card. This included pulling a shirt over a player’s head. Performing provocative or inflammatory behaviour calls for caution or sanctions. Also, a player can be yellow-carded for climbing onto a perimeter fence. Find other goal-celebration acts that warrant caution on page 104 of the Game’s Laws.

DUBAWA’s checks revealed that as of Feb. 3, 2025, FIFA had not released any new regulation banning the SUI celebration in Argentinian football. On page 112, the laws of the Game 24/25 edition maintained the same goal celebration laws as stated in previous editions. 

Also, we searched for any statement on the ban on the Asociacion del Futbol Argentino’s (AFA) web page. However, there was no such news. Further, we contacted Diego Santonovich, spokesperson for Liga Profesional de Futbol, Argentina’s first division league, who confirmed to DUBAWA that there are no such new rules in Argentinian football.

“It’s a lie: nobody in Argentina banned the Ronaldo-style celebration. And no player has ever been reprimanded for doing that celebration,” he said. 

He added that there’s no justification for sanctioning the player celebrating once the player’s celebration does not represent direct aggression to rival team fans. 

Conclusion

The claim that the Sui celebration by the world football icon Cristiano Ronaldo has been banned in Argentina is false.