Soccer star Robbie Keane has said he’ll never get sick of meeting Barack Obama – after was a guest of honour at a special ceremony in the White House last night.
The Tallaght footballer was joined by wife Claudine for an extraordinary meet-and-greet with the US president.
The 34-year-old was invited to the White House with his LA Galaxy team mates in recognition of them winning the soccer league.
Band fun: Robbie with the White House band
And Obama even joked that Robbie was “a cousin of mine” due to his own Irish heritage – with Robbie revealing they spoke about his visit to Ireland in 2011.
He said: “We spoke about when he was in Ireland in 2011 and I got to meet him. He gave a great speech there and said, ‘Is féidir linn’ which means ‘Yes we can’.
“I said that back to him and he said without any hesitation, ‘Yes we can.’ That was a real moment for me.
Cup: Robbie with the LA Galaxy winnings
“You never get bored of coming here because you’re here because you won the championship and you never get bored of winning things. I hope that we’ll be here again next year.”
Obama also specially picked out Robbie as the true star of the team, for his winning goal over New England Revolution in the Major League Soccer championship.
He said: “This season wasn’t a perfect storybook. The Galaxy started off the season in the cellar, then fought their way back into the playoffs.
Trip: Robbie visited White House with Claudine | VIPIRELAND.COM
“And then in the MLS cup against New England, the game went into extra time when Robbie Keane’s goal gave them their latest title.”
During their time in the White House, former model Claudine made sure to post updates online at every step.
At one point, she laughed: “Typical of Rob to find the band inside The White House.”
