Cristiano Ronaldo played his first game in Saudi Arabia against his greatest opponent as Lionel Messi’s PSG played against Riyadh All-Stars in a friendly game on Thursday.
The game ended 5-4 in favour of Paris Saint-Germain as both Messi and Ronaldo were on target.Ronaldo had to wait for his first appearance since joining Al Nassr due to a FA suspension during his Manchester United days.
But his first game in Saudi Arabia is not in Al Nassr colours as he joins a team of all-stars from Riyadh’s two big clubs, Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, to take on Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi and Ronaldo shared the pitch once again for the first time since Juventus side beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League group stages in October 2020.
After Lionel Messi had put PSG in front just three minutes into their friendly game, Cristiano Ronaldo was – naturally – desperate to fight fire with fire.
After going up to meet a cross just shy of the half hour mark, he was accidentally punched in the face by PSG stopper Keylor Navas and needed treatment as a result.
The 37-year-old recovered in time to take the penalty and leveled for the All-Stars.Marquinhos put the French club back in front in the 43rd minute, but Ronaldo leveled again in added minutes of the first half, after Neymar had missed from the spot.
Both Messi and Ronaldo were substituted after the hour mark. Sergio Ramos and Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike were also on target for PSG.
Messi and Ronaldo have now met 37 times, with the PSG player winning 17 matches compared to just 11 victories for Ronaldo.
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