Cristiano Ronaldo will play his first match in Saudi Arabia as part of the national all-star combined XI against Lionel Messi's PSG in a glamorous friendly in Riyadh. The 37-year-old recently signed a £173m-a-year deal to play for Al Nasser in the Saudi Pro League, but is unlikely to make his debut for the club any time soon. Instead, Al Nasser will form a combined XI with their closest title rivals Al-Hilal to play French giants PSG, who are expected to field a strong squad - which could include Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. This is the first meeting between Ronaldo and Messi since the two met in 2020. Ronaldo scored twice for Juventus in a 3-0 win over Barcelona that night in the Champions League. Their last gamble in the Middle East is much less likely.
How to watch PSG v Al Nasser and Al-Hilal All-Star XI on TV and online.
As the thrilling FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022 ends with Argentina crowned champions, soccer legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are set to face each other on the field once again, not in a match, but in a friendly. Although Argentina and Portugal did not get a chance to face each other in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, rivals Ronaldo and Messi will face each other in a friendly match in Saudi Arabia as their two football clubs meet in Saudi Arabia soon.
Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Al Nasser and Al Hilal's Saudi Arabia All-Star squad, while Lionel Messi will return to the football field with his French League side Paris Saint-Germain FC. The much-anticipated match comes just weeks after Cristiano Ronaldo's controversial exit from Manchester United Football Club and multi-million dollar deal with Saudi League club Al Nasser. Both Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest are eyeing a January move for Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who will reunite with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. Navas won three Champions League titles at Real Madrid between 2014 and 2018 alongside Ronaldo, who completed a shock move to the Saudi Arabian club earlier this month. The 37-year-old ended his second spell at Manchester United by mutual consent in November. A bombshell interview with Piers Morgan. Navas will reportedly earn €4m for the rest of the campaign if he joins Al-Nasser, with PSG keen to secure a transfer fee this month for the goalkeeper, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
The Costa Rican made 162 appearances across five seasons at Real Madrid, emerging as the successor to club legend Iker Casillas.
That move prompted Navas to join PSG the following year, but after two seasons as the club's first-choice goalkeeper, he was demoted again after the club signed Donnarumma. He is now keen to re-establish himself as a first-choice goalkeeper elsewhere. PSG are currently top of the Ligue 1 standings and have been very impressive so far this season. The Parisian giants slipped to a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Rennes in their previous game and need to bounce back this week. Saudi Arabia has emerged as a huge football market over the years and can make its presence felt in world football through this competition. Cristiano Ronaldo will lead the team this week and will look to make his debut with a vintage performance.
Al Nasser and Al Hilal are rivals in the Saudi Pro League, with Al Nasser leading Al Hilal by one point and one game in the league table this season. PSG have lost two of their last three matches. Ligue 1 have conceded a total of four goals in their two defeats this term. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have played 36 matches against each other - Messi has a slight edge with 22 goals to Ronaldo's 21. The Argentinian was the clear winner with 12 assists to Ronaldo's one. PSG are the best team in Ligue 1 this season with 48 goals in 19 league matches, with Kylian Mbappe scoring 13 goals. Lionel Messi scored 10 assists in the match. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ace Neymar Jr has not been at his best since the 2022 FIFA World Cup restarted the season after the break. The Brazilian was in great form before the World Cup break and was probably the club's best player. However, the No. 10 failed to repeat that high in the second half of the campaign. He was sent off in his first match for the Paris club against Strasbourg. Neymar's performance in PSG's most recent defeat against Rennes on 16 January was heavily criticized. However, an executive at the club denied claims that the former Barcelona superstar could be ruled out of the upcoming matches.
Kylian Mbappe has returned to training with Paris Saint-Germain
The French champion announced after taking time off for the holidays in the wake of his World Cup efforts. PSG posted a video on social media of the 24-year-old France superstar accompanying Morocco full-back Achraf Hakimi to the training ground as the team prepared for Sunday's Ligue 1 match against Rennes. Both participated until the final weekend of the World Cup. Mbappe scored a hat-trick as France lost on penalties to Argentina. Hakimi helped Morocco finish fourth. However, both played in PSG's first match since the tournament, a 2–1 win over Strasbourg on 28 December, in which Mbappe scored an injury-time winner from the penalty spot. They also played in a 3-1 defeat at Lens four days later, but have missed their club's last two outings, including Wednesday's 2-0 win over Angers in which Lionel Messi returned to score.
from Sports Night https://ift.tt/lsJ2quA
via IFTTT