Vladimir Putin could travel to the US for the 2026 World Cup, Donald Trump has said. 

The US president dangled the prospect of an invitation for the Russian leader, who has largely been treated as an international pariah since he invaded Ukraine more than three years ago.

Speaking alongside Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, in the Oval Office on Friday, Mr Trump said: “There’s a man named Vladimir Putin, who I believe will be coming, depending on what happens, he may be coming and he may not, depending on what happens.”

The Russian president “wants to be there very badly”, Mr Trump said.