Cristiano Ronaldo recovered himself from the penalty spot due to the pain in his face before scoring from the penalty spot for his first goal in Saudi Arabia against a Paris Saint-Germain team featuring old foe Lionel Messi.
Messi had already scored early in Thursday’s exhibition match when Ronaldo was shot boxing-match style by Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas after about 30 minutes in Riyadh, the city that has gained sporting fame for hosting the world heavyweight boxing championship bout in 2019.
It wasn’t Anthony Joshua but Navas who grabbed Ronaldo in the face and helped him under a lofted ball.
They both went down like cut boxers.
Ronaldo grabbed his head, rose, gave a wide yawn as if testing his sore left cheek, and sent former Real Madrid teammate Navas the wrong way.
By the end of the first half, Ronaldo’s cheekbones were bright red, but he was all smiles after scoring his second goal, volleying a rebound when his header bounced off the post. Poking his tongue, a delighted Ronaldo walked away and his teammates attacked him at the corner flag.
When PSG star Kylian Mbappe checked the condition of Ronaldo’s cheek just before the second half, Ronaldo caught the French World Cup star’s attention and pointed to the red flag.
Mbappe smiled at him as if to say “You’ll be fine” and Ronaldo raised his arm triumphantly like a heavyweight champ.
Paris Saint-Germain, supported by Qatar, won 5-4 against two joint Saudi teams, Al-Nasr and Al-Hilal, led by new star Ronaldo, in front of 68,000 spectators at King Fahd International Stadium. Despite his team’s loss, Ronaldo’s final push against Messi may have been eclipsed as one of the greatest rivalries in football history resumed in an unusual location.
Messi’s shot led to a handball and PSG’s fourth goal, scored by Mbappe from the penalty spot.
Ronaldo came out to a standing ovation after the hour mark, followed by Mbappe and the Argentine World Cup-winning star Messi, who was warmly embraced by his compatriot Marcelo Gallardo, who coached the joint Saudi national team.
Ronaldo’s bruise darkened with the night sky when he was awarded the man of the match.
And he got into conversation with his former Real Madrid teammates Sergio Ramos and Navas before the medal ceremony. Then he spoke to Portuguese teammates Renato Sanchez and Danilo, who both play for Paris Saint-Germain.
But Ronaldo was not close to Messi, as if they were avoiding each other. They couldn’t do that earlier on the field, when Ronaldo made a save to Messi in the second minute.
Moments later, Messi smiled as he scored from Neymar’s lofted pass. Ronaldo seemed annoyed at his teammates for letting Messi into space. Cruel, because few defenders have tracked Messi’s runs, let alone stopped them. The World Cup proved it, if there was any doubt.
There was little interaction between former Real Madrid star Ronaldo and arch-rival Messi during Barcelona’s glory days.
It was Ronaldo who tentatively approached the unemotional Messi in the center circle seconds before the whistle blew to possibly begin their final match as challengers.
There was a polite exchange, the shortest handshake.
Messi stared at Ronaldo late in the first half, after PSG defender Juan Bernat was sent off, and Ronaldo appeared to pull away from Messi.
It was a different mood in the tunnel beforehand, when a smiling Ronaldo hugged Ramos, who now plays alongside Messi, and Ramos joked that he had forgotten to remove an ear stud.
The laugh was on Ramos later, when he hit a loose ball on Ronaldo’s second goal. Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar also missed a penalty kick.
There was an atmosphere before the start as fans waved Argentine flags while others held up their yellow victory jersey, proudly pointing to Ronaldo’s number 7 on the back. Tape spilled from the stands as Ronaldo led his team out. He smiled and winked as he got a standing ovation.
Ronaldo could end his career in Riyadh after signing a $200m-a-year deal, swapping Europe’s elite competition for the AFC Champions League.
He will play his first match in the Saudi League with Al-Nasr on Sunday against Al-Ettifaq Club, far from the stadiums in which he starred with Manchester United and Madrid.
Intense competition
The rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo was among the greatest of all time.
Between them he has won 12 Ballon d’Or awards – Messi has seven, Ronaldo five – and he has won 56 major trophies. Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times, compared to four times for Messi. Messi is the all-time “El Clasico” top scorer with 26 goals for Barcelona, eight more than Ronaldo for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo won the European Championship in 2016, but Messi was outstanding in Argentina winning the Copa America in 2021 and their success in the 2022 World Cup.
Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in men’s international football with 118 goals, while Messi’s seven World Cup titles are third with 98 goals.
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