Does Cristiano Ronaldo Support Israel?

David Svetsky Feb 18, 2025 4 min read

Short answer: As of July 2026, Cristiano Ronaldo has never publicly taken a political side on Israel or the Israel-Palestine conflict, and no reputable source shows him endorsing either side. His documented Israel-related moments are commercial and ceremonial, not political: a 2016 TV ad for the Israeli company HOT, and a signed Juventus shirt he gave to Israel's foreign minister at a 2019 diplomatic forum. Almost everything else circulating online, whether it paints him as pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, has been fact-checked as fabricated, doctored, or AI-generated.

What Cristiano Ronaldo has actually said and done

Here is the verifiable public record on Israel, in order.

Early 2016: Ronaldo records a solidarity message for children affected by the Syrian war, calling them "real heroes" and telling them "the world is with you." The clip is entirely about Syria, but it is later repeatedly re-cut and misattributed as support for Gaza, as documented by The Observers - France 24.
February 11, 2016: Ronaldo appears in a TV commercial for the Israeli telecom and cable company HOT alongside three Israeli comedians, a lighthearted broadband-speed gag. When pro-Palestinian activists attack him online, the Anti-Defamation League defends him, with CEO Jonathan Greenblatt calling the backlash an "ugly smear campaign" and framing the boycott pressure as unfair rather than a political matter (ADL).
December 8, 2019: At Italy's Med Dialogues forum, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz meets Ronaldo and his Juventus teammates, and Ronaldo gives Katz a signed Juventus jersey. Katz posts the photo and says he passed along "warm greetings from Israeli fans." The gesture draws criticism from pro-Palestinian accounts, per Middle East Monitor.
June 27, 2022: Iran's state broadcaster (IRIB) dubs a false Persian voiceover over Ronaldo's 2016 Syria video, inventing anti-Israel statements he never made, and revives a debunked hoax that he refused to swap shirts with an Israeli player. Both The Observers - France 24 and RFE/RL identify it as state disinformation, aired by Khamenei-controlled state TV amid Ronaldo's surging popularity in Iran.
October 2023: A fabricated quote ("If I say I love Israel like other football players do, I will be chosen as the best player in the world every year. I support Palestine..."), which first surfaced on Facebook in 2014, spreads widely once the October 2023 Israel-Hamas war begins. Myth Detector confirms Ronaldo never said it and has made no official statement on the conflict.
April 2025: A viral video of Ronaldo saying "I love Palestine" is confirmed a deepfake by Full Fact. The source footage is a February 2025 Alkass Sports interview that never mentions Palestine, and forensics expert Hany Farid identifies it as a low-quality lip-sync fake (also reported by DAWN).
October 2025: Claims that Ronaldo donated $2 million for Gaza relief go viral alongside an image of him holding a Palestinian flag. Misbar finds the claim baseless and the image AI-generated. A parallel 2019 rumor of a $1.5 million Ramadan donation had already been denied by his own representatives.

Why the record is thin, and so full of fakes

Cristiano Ronaldo is not Jewish and has no known Jewish heritage. He was raised Catholic in Madeira, Portugal. He is also one of the most-followed people on earth, which makes him a constant target for fabricated political content from every direction. On Israel specifically, the verifiable record is short and non-political. The Anti-Defamation League publicly stood up for him in February 2016 after anti-Israel activists attacked his HOT ad, framing the pressure to boycott Israeli work as an unfair smear rather than a political stance. His only other notable Israel touchpoint is ceremonial: the signed Juventus shirt he handed to Foreign Minister Israel Katz at the 2019 Med Dialogues forum. The catch is that most of what people find when they search his name on this topic is disinformation. Iran's state TV manufactured anti-Israel quotes by dubbing over his Syria charity clip, a pro-Palestine "quote" circulating since 2014 is fabricated, a 2025 "I love Palestine" video is an AI deepfake, and the viral Gaza donation figures are false. The whole "boycott Ronaldo" conversation traces back to activists reacting to that 2016 Israeli ad, not to anything Ronaldo himself has ever said.

The bottom line

Cristiano Ronaldo has not endorsed Israel, and he has not endorsed Palestine. His real Israel-related actions are commercial and ceremonial (the 2016 HOT ad and the 2019 shirt to Israel's foreign minister), and the ADL notably went to bat for him when he was attacked over that ad. Everything else, on either side, is fabricated quotes, doctored images, or AI deepfakes. The accurate framing is simple: he is politically neutral and silent on the conflict, not a supporter of either side.

Wear your own answer

Ronaldo has stayed silent, but you do not have to. If the noise around famous names leaves you wanting to say clearly where you stand, our Support Israel collection is a simple way to do it. From an I Stand With Israel bracelet you can wear every day to shirts, flags, and Star of David pieces, every purchase backs Israeli-made and Israel-loving design. When a global icon says nothing, your choice can speak for itself.

Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.