- Shimon Hafez
- BBC Sport
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named FIFA World Player of the Year five times, while Lionel Messi has won the award seven times
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals in his first match in Saudi Arabia, and Lionel Messi scored a goal in the exciting match in which Paris Saint-Germain beat the stars of Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr clubs, 5-4.
The exhibition match that was held in the Saudi capital witnessed a confrontation between the two players, who are considered two of the greatest football players ever, and this confrontation may be the last between them inside the green rectangle.
Messi opened the scoring, then Ronaldo scored two goals, bringing the score to a tie with two goals for each team at the end of the first half.
The two players left the field following an hour had passed.
And without Paris Saint-Germain defenders, Sergio Ramos and Marquinhos, their names are also in the list of scorers, but the French club played most of the match with ten players following Juan Bernat got a red card following his intervention on the Saudi international player, Salem Al-Dosari. Neymar missed a penalty in an entertaining first half.
Jang Hyun Soo equalized for Al Hilal Stars and Al Nasr with a wonderful header, bringing the result to a tie with three goals for each team, then Paris Saint-Germain scored two consecutive goals, the first from a penalty kick through Kylian Mbappe, and the second through substitute Hugo Ikitake. Anderson Talisca reduced the score with a goal in stoppage time, but time did not help Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr stars to equalize.
A confrontation between two of the greatest players in history
image copyright Getty Images
Ronaldo famously celebrated following scoring
This was Ronaldo’s first participation in the Saudi stadiums following his transfer in a huge deal to Al-Nasr, as he missed two matches for his new team as a result of being suspended for two matches when he was a player in the ranks of Manchester United.
However, he will play his first official match with his new team on Sunday, when it hosts Al-Ettifaq Club at the “Morsool Park” stadium.
So, his first participation in Saudi Arabia was in a high-profile and highly competitive friendly once morest old rival Messi, who lifted the World Cup in neighboring Qatar just a month earlier.
The Argentine captain took advantage of a magic pass from Neymar to score the opening goal in the match following just two minutes, but the 37-year-old Portugal captain responded with two goals.
Ronaldo scored his first goal from a penalty kick, which he obtained following Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas interfered with him, causing severe bruising to his face.
The Portuguese star showed that he still had a huge passion and a strong desire to fight inside the stadium, as he hit the ball with his head, hitting the post at first and bouncing back to him to put it in the goal with his left foot, scoring his second personal goal in the match, before celebrating in his famous way.
Ronaldo and Messi left the stadium in the 61st minute of the meeting, which may be the last between them.
“Two Superpowers of Sportswashing Show Their Might”
However, the match was criticized by rights group Amnesty International, who said Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing strategy had reached its “extreme extreme”.
Peter Frankenthal, Director of Economics at Amnesty International UK, said: “Ronaldo’s mega-bargain move to victory and the Saudi authorities’ reliance on Messi as a tourism ambassador are part of Riyadh’s aggressive sports-laundering programme.”
“The authorities seek to exploit the popularity of elite sports celebrities to deflect attention from the country’s appalling human rights record,” he added.
He continued, “Saudi Arabia’s extensive use of sports to exercise soft power is something well known, but with the emergence of Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain in Riyadh, we have two sports washing superpowers – Saudi Arabia and Qatar – showing their strength.”
He concluded, “Footballers like Ronaldo and Messi have enormous influence, and we’d like to see them resist their exploitation as famous faces of sportswashing, including speaking out on human rights issues in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”
