BARRIO (BleacherReport) – World football legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will cross paths one more time.
Messi’s Inter Miami and Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr will play in February as part of the Riyadh Season Cup.
The pair most recently faced off this past January, when Paris Saint-Germain beat a Riyadh All-Stars XI squad 5-4 in Saudi Arabia.
Many thought that would be the last time Messi and Ronaldo shared a pitch since they’re spending the twilight of their careers on different continents.
In a perfect scenario, Messi and Ronaldo would’ve contested their farewell match in the World Cup or Champions League, a stage befitting their status within the sport. The Riyadh Season Cup at least presents a finite conclusion to their long-running rivalry on the pitch.
For more than a decade, Messi and Ronaldo cast a wide shadow over world football. Ronaldo won the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards in 2008, and the pair of he and Messi went on to lift the trophy in 12 of the next 14 years.
Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid in 2009 also put them on opposite sides for one of Europe’s biggest derbies for nine seasons.
Fans spent countless hours arguing which of the two is better, a debate that has probably come to an end thanks to Messi’s record eight Ballon d’Ors and Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph.
February’s friendly will undoubtedly be used to once again put Messi and Ronaldo’s legacies side by side.
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