A Saudi Arabian real estate tycoon has spent a whopping Rs 22 crore to buy a ticket to see Cristiano Ronaldo face off against Lionel Messi, winning the bid during a charity auction for $2.6 million. FIFA World Cup 2022-winning star Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain are up against a Saudi select side made up of players from Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr and their Saudi rivals Al Hilal in Thursday’s match in Riyadh.
According to sources close to the club, this will be the first time Ronaldo has played any football in the Saudi kingdom since signing the contract with Al Nasser, which runs until 2025 and is worth more than 200 million euros ($214 million). Is. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is set to make his Saudi Pro League debut for Al Nassr on Sunday.
To promote Thursday’s friendly, Turki Al-Sheikh, an advisor to the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced a charity auction for a special ticket, which would offer photo opportunities with the players and access to lockers. Will come with perks like access to the room. Bidding started at 1 million Saudi riyals ($266,000) and the auction closed at 11:30 pm (20:30 GMT) on Tuesday.
Al-Sheikh then announced on Twitter that the winning bid of 10 million riyals ($2.6m) had come from Musharraf al-Ghamdi. Sheikh said, “Congratulations, you deserve it and may God reward you well.”
Proceeds from the auction are going to go to a national charity campaign known as Ehsaan.
One of the greatest rivalries in football history is set to resume at the unlikely venue of Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium. The stage is set for Lionel Messi vs Messi on Thursday Cristiano Ronaldo When Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain take on a combined XI of Saudi Arabian sides Al Nassr and Al Hilal in an exhibition match.
A Saudi real estate mogul has won a ticket to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi face off in a friendly after bidding $2.6m at auction. https://t.co/ld7f6lo5ix pic.twitter.com/tMMFVAhHhN– AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) January 18, 2023
Riyadh is where Ronaldo has likely decided to base the final years of his storied career after signing a $200 million per year deal to join Al Nasr. Games against Messi and PSG are reminiscent of Portugal’s international glory days before Ronaldo turned his attention to Al Nassr’s domestic title challenge and bid to qualify for the Asian Champions League.
The Messi–Ronaldo rivalry was never greater than when they played for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, and their scoring feats saw the players dominate Spanish and European football. Performing with Messi in these conditions would have been unimaginable just a year ago when Ronaldo was still scoring regularly for a struggling Manchester United team.
Messi and Ronaldo have experienced vastly different fortunes over the last 12 months. Messi finally won the World Cup with Argentina in December. Ronaldo was shunned by club and country, had his United contract terminated and eventually joined Al Nassr in one of the most surprising moves in football history.
It will be Ronaldo’s first action in Saudi Arabia since a two-match suspension issued by the English Football Association for snatching a mobile phone from a fan after a match between Man United and Everton last April. His debut for Saudi league leaders Al Nassr will come against Attifaq on Sunday.
(With PTI inputs)