Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to face off against long-time rival Lionel Messi in his first game in Saudi Arabia.
Lionel Messi’s PSG have confirmed they will take a winter tour of the Middle East and visit the home of their Qatari sponsors before jetting to Saudi Arabia to play an exhibition friendly against a team made up of players from Al Nassr and Al Hilal.
It means Ronaldo’s first game in Saudi Arabia won’t be for new club Al Nassr, but for an All Star Saudi XI.
Ronaldo v Messi
Football fans around the world will be excited to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi face off for perhaps the last time. An intense personal rivalry and respect has developed between the two players, considered by many to be the greatest of all time (Goat).
It will be the first time the two biggest stars in world football have shared a pitch since December 2020 when they were playing for Juventus and Barcelona.
Since then Messi has won the World Cup and Copa America with Argentina and Ronaldo has changed clubs twice and added 10m followers to Al Nassr’s Instagram account.
Al Nassr have already played one game without their star signing, meaning he will be eligible to play against Ettifaq on January 22.
However, the exhibition game is not an official FIFA-sanctioned game so would not be covered by the ban.
Al Nassr coach, Rudi Garcia, is less than impressed by the prospect of Ronaldo making his start in Saudi Arabia in anything less than the striking yellow and blue of his new side.
“It [his debut] won’t be with the Al Nassr jersey,” Garcia told L’Équipe.
“It will be a mix between Al Hilal and Al Nassr. As the coach of Al Nassr, I cannot be happy with this match. For development, to see PSG, to see the great Parisian players, indeed it is a good thing. But we have a championship game three days later.
“In terms of scheduling, it could have been better thought out. But it’s not a big deal. We are in the lead, we are happy. It is a difficult championship to win, but we intend to do it.”
A statement from PSG confirmed the fixture. The club said: “Paris Saint-Germain will travel to Doha and Riyadh on the January 18 and 19. This tour will be an opportunity for the Parisians to meet their Qatari and MENA supporters, train in the iconic Khalifa Stadium.
“The team will fly out on January 17 to Doha then travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to play against an all-star XI from Saudi top clubs Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr.
“The match will be held at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh on January 19th. The team will fly back after the game to Paris.”
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