A brand new chapter within the celebrated rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will unfurl on Thursday once they meet in an exhibition match because the Portugal ahead gears up for his first recreation in Saudi Arabia since becoming a member of Al Nassr.
After a glittering profession in Europe that noticed him win 4 Champions League titles with Real Madrid and two Scudettos at Juventus, Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr, describing it because the “right moment” to share his expertise in Asia.
The Saudi membership is the newest cease in Ronaldo’s profession that started in 2002 at Sporting CP earlier than the ahead spent two spells at Manchester United, the final of which ended on a bitter observe as he exited following his acrimonious break up with the membership.
Ronaldo and Messi, who’ve dominated soccer’s debate concerning the best of all time (GOAT) for the most effective a part of 10 years, will face off on the pitch on Thursday for the primary time since December 2020 when Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0.
Ronaldo will lead Riyadh ST XI, a staff made up of gamers from Al Hilal and Al Nassr, in opposition to Messi’s Paris St Germain within the exhibition contest the place nothing is at stake, however followers are nonetheless excited by the prospect of watching the 2 stars conflict.
The extremely anticipated showdown, which is able to happen on the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, reportedly had greater than two million on-line ticket requests.
The bidding for a VIP “Beyond Imagination” ticket to the match has already topped 10 million riyals ($2.66 million) in an public sale that’s set to finish afterward Tuesday.
The recreation has additionally captivated followers because it comes simply over a month after Messi helped Argentina win the 2022 World Cup, the lacking piece in his huge trophy assortment.
Ronaldo additionally made headlines throughout the event, changing into the primary participant to attain in 5 World Cups, however he ended up in tears after Portugal have been knocked out within the quarter-finals by Morocco.
While Thursday’s pleasant might be Ronaldo’s first in Saudi Arabia, the 37-year-old’s first aggressive look will come within the Saudi Pro League on Sunday when Al Nassr host Al Ettifaq.
Last month, he signed a two and a half 12 months contract with Al Nassr, estimated by media to be price greater than 200 million euros ($216.28 million), however has needed to wait to play due to a two-match ban by England’s FA for knocking a cellphone out of a fan’s hand in April.
The exhibition recreation may also characteristic different key PSG gamers akin to Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Ramos and Neymar, whereas Saudi internationals Salem Al-Dawsari, who scored within the shock group-stage win over Argentina, and Saud Abdulhamid will play too.
French newspaper L’Equipe reported on Monday that PSG will earn simply over 10 million euros for the sport.
