PSG headed to Saudi Arabia to take against the Riyadh All-Stars in a friendly match in the capital city of the Middle Eastern nation’s country. This was possibly the last time that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will compete against one another.
The exhibition match was held as part of the Saudi festival known as Riyadh Seasons, and what a show it was! Over the course of the match’s entirety, there were a total of nine goals scored, a red card issued, and an unending number of star players involved in the action. Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo all scored for PSG in their win, which they ultimately took by a score of 5-4. Take a peek at the complete article here.
There is a strong desire, widespread across the Arabian peninsula, to market the area as a desirable and accessible tourism destination. Those considering a visit are told that the hospitality is unmatched by any other. After seeing the welcome that was put out for Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, it is difficult to disagree.
His first game for Riyadh was a friendly on Thursday night against a fully-strength Paris Saint-Germain team. It was his first time playing professionally. Ronaldo was given a questionable penalty in the first half of the game, an opponent was sent off for an even more questionable foul, and Ronaldo scored his second equaliser in the sixth of three scheduled stoppage time minutes.
What else are we able to provide for you, Cristiano? Are you offering free mints? A new watch, eh? Do you have any additional floors in your home? PSG did their part as well, with Neymar sending a soft penalty kick into the arms of Team Ronaldo’s keeper, but in the end, Team Ronaldo came out on top with a 5-4 victory despite having a player disadvantage
Ronaldo played in his first game since moving to the Middle East, which was a composite XI, and it was his first match overall. It was the pinnacle of achievement for Saudi Arabia’s two most successful clubs, Al Nasr and Al Hilal, Al. This is what the game of football is called.
It is also possible that this will be the ignominious conclusion to the most heated football rivalry of our time. Messi’s victory over Ronaldo’s team, Manchester United, in the Champions League final in 2009 was the moment when the rivalry between the two players truly took off. It had been building to this point for an amazingly long time. Eight years later, in a Clásico played at the Bernabéu, Messi scored a late winner and proudly displayed the named side of his shirt in front of the Bernabéu’s enraged home fans.
Since then, both of them have experienced a drop in their performance as club footballers, and the level that Ronaldo has now reached was clearly visible on his shirt. The typeface that was used to spell out his name was an awful italic script, similar to what you might see in a high street card shop. The jersey itself was a shimmering sky blue jumble and was covered in too many different sponsors’ logos. Toto, I have a sneaking suspicion that we will not be competing in the Champions League this season.
After only three minutes, Messi scored the game’s first goal, which was assisted by a goalie who appeared to leap out of the way of his strike. After half an hour, Ronaldo received a blow to the jaw from Keylor Navas’ flying elbow as both players jumped in vain for the same free kick. Ronaldo’s injury required stitches. Penalty, the Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim announced, much to the amazement of the crowd and in stark contrast to the lack of interaction from Var.
This was the point at which the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry entered its worn-out Rocky V phase. Ronaldo had a stye developing just below his left eye at this point. When and where is the conclusion going to be? Despite the fact that Messi will point to his World Cup victory as convincing proof of his dominance, it will not be possible to settle it with a chess match sponsored by Louis Vuitton before Qatar 2022.
However, you should not undervalue people’s need for a never-ending narrative extension. In this day and age of limitless superhero franchises, we can anticipate that hologram Ronaldo will square off against robot Messi in metaverse stadiums up until around the date when our world will be destroyed by the sun.
In the end, this earth-bound meeting took place in the infraverse, and it was a battle between a French outpost in the Qatari state and the Saudi Al-stars. It was quite difficult to decide who it was that we should cheer for. Messi is not opposed to a little bit of paid partnership himself, in contrast to Ronaldo, who has lost some support due to the retirement strategy he has chosen.
As part of his duties as a Saudi tourism ambassador from the previous year, he took the time to tweet, “Was impressed by Al Balad, a beautiful UNESCO historical site that mixes charm with heritage and provides an unforgettable experience #VisitSaudi.” He said that the site “provides an unforgettable experience.” There has been no word yet on how the spice market stacks up against Doha’s, but you can bet that the discussion is heating up in his WhatsApp with David Beckham.
The only interaction that took place between Messi and Ronaldo before the game was a friendly shake of hands in the tunnel before it. Perhaps they were aware that any photographs of the two of them together could be incredibly lucrative. After sixty minutes of play, and after Kylian Mbappé had made it 4-3 from the penalty spot, Ronaldo was taken out of the game as the scoreboard and the game were quickly becoming detached from reality. After that, Messi came in a minute later, which was just another minute act of one-upmanship in this never-ending conflict.
Both appeared to be enjoying themselves, but notably Ronaldo, who appeared to be in a better mood than he had been in months by the time the game was over. He scored two goals, was awarded the man of the match trophy, and performed multiple backheels without looking. He appeared content with his performance. It’s possible that after all of the rhetoric about unhappy endings to legacies, this is what he really wants.
to display dexterity while playing games with no stakes. To collect some more commemorative plaques. To spark joy. And for it, of course, to be compensated in some way.
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