Ronaldo, 37, was decked by PSG ‘keeper Keylor Navas’s flailing fist but he drilled the resulting penalty and then added another in a 4-5 exhibition defeat, his first appearance since moving to Saudi Arabia in a deal said to total more than 400 million euros.
Riyadh All-Stars’ Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring against PSG at the King Fahd Stadium on Thursday. Pic/Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo birthday 2024: Cristiano Ronaldo recovered from a punch in the face to score twice against Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday in a lively reunion with his great rival Lionel Messi that demonstrated the financial firepower of the resource-rich Gulf.
Ronaldo, 37, was decked by PSG ‘keeper Keylor Navas’s flailing fist but he drilled the resulting penalty and then added another in a 4-5 exhibition defeat, his first appearance since moving to Saudi Arabia in a deal said to total more than 400 million euros.
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For Qatar-owned PSG, Messi and Kylian Mbappe both scored and Neymar missed a penalty before they withdrew on the hour-mark alongside Ronaldo, who was representing a composite Saudi side, to leave the world’s four best-paid players watching from the bench in Riyadh.
Also read: Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-German beats Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr 5-4 in football friendly
Hundreds of millions of euros worth of footballers were on view for the exhibition game in the Saudi capital, which comes just weeks after neighbouring Qatar spent lavishly on the first World Cup on Arab soil, won by Messi’s Argentina. Among the packed crowd at the 69,000-seat King Fahd Stadium was a Saudi real estate mogul who paid $2.6 million at auction for a ticket giving him dressing-room access to the players.
Cristiano Ronaldo birthday 2024: PSG vs Al Nassr-Al Hilal at a glance
This match was touted as the final occasion Messi and Ronaldo competed on the same field and boy did it deliver.
With Messi scoring just minutes into the action and Ronaldo equalising soon after, the match rocked back and forth until the nine-goal thriller was finally sealed thanks to Ekitike’s goal at the end.
Ronaldo completed a memorable debut against his old adversary, with two goals, and looks set to have a prolific career ahead with Al Nassr once he makes his Saudi Pro League debut this coming Sunday against Ettifaq.
As for Messi, he will return to France with the rest of the team, where he will look to feature in a French Cup encounter with Pays de Cassel next Monday.
(With agency inputs)
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