Days after Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut in the Saudi Pro League for Al Nassr, a Saudi football official has now shed light on the chances of Lionel Messi playing again in the same league as the former. Ronaldo signed a lucrative deal for the Riyadh-based club and joined them earlier this month. He will reportedly earn approximately INR 1700 crores per year.
Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) General Secretary Ibrahim Alkassim now revealed the possibility of Argentine football captain Messi following Ronaldo’s footsteps. Reportedly, it is understood that Saudi clubs Al Ittihad and Al Hilal have already shown interest in roping in the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, as he is yet to renew his contract with PSG.
Speaking to Marca, Alkassim said, “At the moment we do not know anything about a possible Lionel Messi arrival. Although I will not hide that, as the Saudi Federation, we would like to have him one day in the domestic league.”
“The idea of the Federation is always to improve our football, and of course, we would like to see Cristiano and Messi in the same league again, but the truth is that we don’t know anything now”, he further added.
PSG defeated Saudi All-Stars XI in a friendly match
Ronaldo played his first match for the club on January 22, days after playing his first match on Saudi soil. On January 19, a Saudi-All-Star XI team locked horns against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)’s Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and others in an exhibition match at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh. Ronaldo then made his club debut against Ettifaq on Sunday, as Al Nassr claimed a 1-0 win without the 37-year-old being among the goal scorers.
PSG secured a 5-4 win over Saudi All-Stars in the exhibition match in Riyadh. The action kicked off with Messi breaking the deadlock inside the opening three minutes. Ronaldo then found the equalizer for the hosts as he successfully converted from the penalty spot after being fouled by the PSG goalkeeper.
Marquinhos restored the lead just on the brink of halftime but shortly after Ronaldo netted his second goal to bring things on level terms at the interval. The second half saw PSG start on a strong note, with Sergio Ramos scoring an easy tap-in inside the first 10 minutes.
However, PSG’s celebration were cut short as Hyeon Soo Jang scored the equalizer moments later. Mbappe then restored PSG’s lead, successfully converting a penalty after a defender handed the ball inside the D. Hugo Ekitiké then made it 5-3 before Talisca scored the final goal of the match, which came in the stoppage time.
