Long-time rivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are set to play in a titanic match in Saudi Arabia.
UPDATE: Ronaldo v Messi match in Saudi Arabia a 9-goal thriller – see full match report
Excitement has been building among football fans around the world as two players widely regarded as among the greatest of all time look to clash on the pitch on January 19.
Fans desperate to see the match have caused ticket prices to surge, with those wishing to watch Ronaldo and Messi play having to spend as much as $750,000.
Here’s a detailed overview of everything you need to know about the Riyadh Season Stars v Paris Saint-Germain
- Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia as football ‘goats’ set for January 19 clash
- Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia match ticket selling for over $750k
- Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia match ticket selling for $2.6m
- Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia: beIN Sports to stream Riyadh Season Cup
- Ronaldo to lead Saudi team as football captain against Messi’s PSG
Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia as football ‘goats’ set for January 19 clash
Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to face off against long-time rival Lionel Messi in his first game in Saudi Arabia.
Lionel Messi’s PSG have confirmed they will take a winter tour of the Middle East and visit the home of their Qatari sponsors before jetting to Saudi Arabia to play an exhibition friendly against a team made up of players from Al Nassr and Al Hilal.
It means Ronaldo’s first game in Saudi Arabia won’t be for new club Al Nassr, but for an All Star Saudi XI.
Ronaldo v Messi
Football fans around the world will be excited to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi face off for perhaps the last time. An intense personal rivalry and respect has developed between the two players, considered by many to be the greatest of all time (Goat).
It will be the first time the two biggest stars in world football have shared a pitch since December 2020 when they were playing for Juventus and Barcelona.
Since then Messi has won the World Cup and Copa America with Argentina and Ronaldo has changed clubs twice and added 10 million followers to Al Nassr’s Instagram account.
Al Nassr have already played one game without their star signing, meaning he will be eligible to play against Ettifaq on January 22.
However, the exhibition game is not an official FIFA-sanctioned game so would not be covered by the ban.
Al Nassr coach, Rudi Garcia, is less than impressed by the prospect of Ronaldo making his start in Saudi Arabia in anything less than the striking yellow and blue of his new side.
“It [his debut] won’t be with the Al Nassr jersey,” Garcia told L’Équipe.
“It will be a mix between Al Hilal and Al Nassr. As the coach of Al Nassr, I cannot be happy with this match. For development, to see PSG, to see the great Parisian players, indeed it is a good thing. But we have a championship game three days later.
“In terms of scheduling, it could have been better thought out. But it’s not a big deal. We are in the lead, we are happy. It is a difficult championship to win, but we intend to do it.”
A statement from PSG confirmed the fixture. The club said: “Paris Saint-Germain will travel to Doha and Riyadh on the January 18 and 19. This tour will be an opportunity for the Parisians to meet their Qatari and MENA supporters, train in the iconic Khalifa Stadium.
“The team will fly out on January 17 to Doha then travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to play against an All Star Saudi XI from Saudi top clubs Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr.
“The match will be held at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh on January 19th. The team will fly back after the game to Paris.”
Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia match ticket selling for over $750k
Cristiano Ronaldo will make his Saudi football debut in an all-star match against PSG’s Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, and one match ticket will cost more than $750,000.
The exhibition game will see an All Star Saudi XI team made up of players from Saudi teams Al Nassr and Al Hilal take on PSG as part of the French side’s Middle East tour.
As well as being Ronaldo’s first game on Saudi Arabian soil since signing a contract worth more than $214 million a year, it is a chance to see the iconic rivalry with World Cup winner Lionel Messi once again.
One lucky, and wealthy, ticket holder will have a match experience like no other.
Turki Al-Sheikh, the head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, has launched a charity bid for a very special match ticket that grants VIP access to the stadium as well as the opportunity to meet the players, go into changing rooms and even be a part of the winning team photo.
Proceeds from the sale of the ticket, known as the Beyond Imagination Ticket, will be donated to Saudi Arabia’s Ehsan charity fund. Organisers had more than 1.5 million requests for the ticket within hours of it going on sale.
Bidding for the exclusive matchday ticket started at €250,000 ($268,000) and quickly shot up. In an update on his Twitter account Turki Al-Sheikh said the bids had reached €700,000 ($750,000).
Full VIP Ronaldo v Messi matchday ticket benefits include:
- Opportunity to meet Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé
- Attending the opening ceremony
- VIP match seats alongside Turki Al-Sheikh
- Gala lunch
- Exclusive entrance to both teams matchday changing rooms
- Trophy award access
- Team photo with winning side
Bids are open until January 17 and could easily pass the $1 million mark, surely making it the most expensive football match ticket of all time.
Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia match ticket selling for $2.6m
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are set to face off in an exhibition match in Riyadh and bidding on a VIP ticket has now passed $2.6 million.
The exclusive VIP ticket to watch Ronaldo and Messi go head to head is being offered by Turki Al-Sheikh, the head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.
The exhibition game will see an All Star Saudi XI made up of players from Saudi teams Al Nassr and Al Hilal take on PSG as part of the French side’s Middle East tour.
Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia
It could see Ronaldo and other players from the Saudi pro football league take on PSG stars such as Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
One lucky, and wealthy, ticket holder will have a match experience like no other.
Turki Al-Sheikh launched the charity bid for a very special match ticket that grants VIP access to the stadium as well as the opportunity to meet the players, go into changing rooms and even be a part of the winning team photo.
Bidding for the exclusive matchday ticket started at €250,000 ($268,000) and quickly shot up. In an update on his Twitter account Turki Al-Sheikh said the bidding has now reached $2.6 billion (SR10 million).
A post on Twitter said: “Real estate businessman Musharraf bin Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, General Manager of the Aqar One group of companies, has so far made the highest offer on the charity ticket “Beyond Imagination” at 10 million Riyals.”
Ronaldo v Messi in Saudi Arabia: beIN Sports to stream Riyadh Season Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will go head to head in an exhibition match in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, January 19 and the game will be exclusively streamed on beIN Sports.
beIN Media Group has announced that its flagship channel, beIN Sports, has acquired the rights across all its territories (Middle East and North Africa, France, Turkey, Asia, North America, and Australasia) to broadcast the highly-anticipated Riyadh Season Cup.
The match will be played in Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Stadium on Thursday, January 19.
Ronaldo and Messi to face off in Saudi Arabia
French champions PSG will face players from top Saudi clubs Al Hilal and Al-Nassr.
In this match, recent Al-Nassr signing Cristiano Ronaldo will go head-to-head against his long-time rival, PSG forward Lionel Messi, who is fresh off his first FIFA World Cup victory with Argentina in Qatar last month.
Ronaldo and Messi have not clashed since December 2020 when Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0.
The Saudi team will be led by legendary manager Marcelo Gallardo, a two-time Copa Libertadores winner as manager of River Plate.
In PSG’s ranks will be Brazil’s Neymar and France’s World Cup star Kylian Mbappe, who was recently the top scorer at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
In MENA, live studio coverage before the match kicks-off on the beIN Sports free-to-air channel and beIN Sports 2 in Arabic at 7 PM local time, while English coverage starts at 7.30 PM local time on beIN Sports English, leading right up to the opening whistle at 8 PM local time.
French commentary will also be provided on beIN Sports French 2.
Saudi presenter, Tariq Al Hammad, will lead the Arabic studio analysis and will be joined by former Saudi national team captain Yasser Al Qahtani, former Tunisian professional and African Footballer of the Year Tarek Dhiab and former Egyptian professional star Mohamed Aboutrika.
The English studio will be fronted by beIN’s presenter Nicky Crosby with expert analysis from former French football professional and PSG player Didier Domi, who currently serves as a technical advisor to the PSG Academy in Doha.
Bidding has reached $2.6 million on a VIP match ticket to watch the game in the stadium. The exclusive pass will allow one lucky, and wealthy, football fan to meet the players, take a team photo and enter dressing rooms in the stadium.
Ronaldo to lead Saudi team as football captain against Messi’s PSG
Portuguese soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo will lead the Riyadh Season Stars team as captain against Lionel Messi’s French team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Thursday.
Saudi head of General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Turki Al-Sheikh posted a video on Twitter, placing the captain badge on Ronaldo in Riyadh.
The Riyadh Season Cup will take place on January 19 at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, and will see a combined team of 11 from Al Nassr and Al Hilal clubs, the Saudi Gazette reported.
Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia
The 37-year-old football icon will be making his debut for the first time after he signed a $214 million yearly contract with Saudi’s Al Nassr.
Aside from Messi, the PSG team also includes Brazil’s Neymar and France’s Kylian Mbappe.
Ronaldo’s team, on the other side, includes Matheus Pereira and Odion Ighalo of Al-Hilal, and Alvaro Gonzalez and Talisca of Al-Nassr.
Argentinian coach Marcelo Gallardo is set to lead the Riyadh Season Stars team in the match, the report added.
The game will be exclusively streamed on beIN Sports.
beIN Media Group has announced that its flagship channel, beIN Sports, has acquired the rights across all its territories (Middle East and North Africa, France, Turkey, Asia, North America, and Australasia) to broadcast the highly-anticipated Riyadh Season Cup.
The match will be played in Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Stadium on Thursday, January 19.
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