News came out that Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nasr) will make his debut match against rival Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) in Saudi Arabia.
On the 16th (local time), British media The Sun and other foreign media reported that Ronaldo would wear the captain’s armband in a confrontation with Messi and make his debut in Saudi professional soccer Al Nasr.
Al-Nasr forms an all-star team with Al-Hilal and will meet Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a friendly match at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the 19th. It is predicted that Ronaldo will take on the captaincy in this game and face Messi.
The Sun, citing local reports, speculated that the background of this match may include Al-Hilal’s intention to recruit Messi.
Turki Sheikh, head of the Saudi Entertainment Office, also posted a video of Ronaldo filling the captain’s armband on the social network service (SNS) on the 16th, hinting at Ronaldo’s appearance against Messi.
Ronaldo and Messi have reigned as two axes of world football for over 15 years. Messi has won the most Ballon d’Or trophies in football history, having won seven since winning his first Ballon d’Or trophy in 2009. Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or five times.
The two are called dragons and tigers in the soccer world, and even coined the term ‘Meho Daejeon (Messi and Ronaldo’s match)’.
Messi has scored 8 goals and 10 assists in the 2022-2023 season of the French Professional Football League 1. After lifting the trophy at the World Cup in Qatar, Messi also scored a goal in his team’s return match.
Ronaldo chose to go to Saudi Arabia on the 30th of last month after parting ways with Manchester United of the English Professional Football Premier League (EPL). It is known that Ronaldo will receive 200 million euros (approximately 268.5 billion won) including annual salary until 2025 under a contract with Al Nasr.
Ronaldo, who has settled in Saudi Arabia, has yet to appear on the pitch in an Al-Nassr uniform.
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