The motto of a ‘The Last Dance’ between Lionel Messi AND Cristiano Ronaldo, the two best footballers of the century, was truncated. A muscle injury kept the Portuguese side out of the friendly they will play on Thursday InterMiami della Pulce e Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia, in continuity with the Riyadh Season Cup. The match, in any case, will be played starting from 3 pm (Argentine time) at the Kingdom Arena stadium, with television viewing from the stands AppleTVthrough a subscription to MLS season ticket.
In this way, Saudi fans will remain without being able to witness the duel between the two. “Cristiano Ronaldo is in the final stage of recovery and he will be with us in the next few days. He will not play tomorrow (Thursday),” warned Luis Castro, coach of Al Nassr, in a press conference.
The last match between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo took place on 19 January 2023, in another friendly which at the time pitted Al Nassr against the PSG of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
In total they played 37 matches, with 17 wins for the world champion, 11 for the Portuguese and 9 draws. In terms of personal contribution, it ended in a draw (23 goals for each team) and the most epic moment occurred when they met for the first time in the 2008-2009 Champions League final and Barcelona, with a great Messi’s goal. , won the trophy against Manchester United.
Messi and Cristiano also faced each other with their respective national teams, with two friendly matches: on 9 February 2011 it was 2-1 for Argentina, in Geneva, and both scored (the other was scored by Ángel Di María); while on 18 November 2014, at Old Trafford, Portugal won 1-0 with a goal on the hour mark from Raphael Gerreiro.
In this case, Inter Miami will try to get their first win of the preseason against a rival that is also well underway and in full competition, unlike the American team. Those led by Gerardo Martino drew against the Salvadoran national team (0-0) and lost against FC Dallas (0-1) and Al Hilal (3-4).
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.