It’s an individual rivalry that so many spent their formative years watching. Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi, the endless playground and office debate that rolled on for so long as each posted more and more ridiculous numbers that had never been seen before.
With Messi being 35 years old and Ronaldo being 37, the height of that rivalry is far behind. Many will say that it was put to bed when within a calendar month of each other, Messi lifted the World Cup with Argentina and Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia after having his Manchester United contract terminated.
They faced each other again in Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening though as part of Paris Saint-Germain’s unusually timed tour of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The friendly featured PSG up against a squad of the best players in the Saudi Pro League, meaning Ronaldo and Messi were both on the pitch and they both started the game in Riyadh.
Within three minutes, Messi put PSG ahead as he latched onto a ball over the top and finished calmly. Not to be overshadowed, Ronaldo soon won a penalty after being clattered in the air by PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas and the Portuguese forward dispatched that spot kick calmly.
Surprisingly for a friendly, Juan Bernat then got himself sent off for a tackle as the last man which swung the game in Ronaldo’s favour. Marquinhos quickly put PSG back in front but Ronaldo got his second of the game after the break as he fired in the rebound after his header hit the post.
A player who had a front-row seat for Ronaldo and Messi’s rivalry in Spain for almost the whole thing is Sergio Ramos, and he then got on the score sheet to make it 3-2 to PSG. Jang Hyun-soo soon made became 3-3 and then Messi won a penalty as he fired a shot which hit the hand of a defender. Mbappe tucked that away.
Hugo Ekitike made it 5-3 to PSG and Anderson Talisca made sure the game ended 5-4. That means two goals for Ronaldo, and one for Messi, but Messi was on the winning team.
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It seems highly unlikely at this stage that Ronaldo will return to Europe to face Messi in the Champions League or any domestic league. The move to Saudi Arabia feels terminal in that regard.
Beyond any sort of engineered friendlies, there is actually a genuine chance they could face each other again. We…
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