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A star-studded team made up of Al Nassr and Al Hilal players will be captained by Cristiano Ronaldo in this week’s friendly matchup against Paris Saint-Germain in Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday, Cristiano Ronaldo will lead an Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal team against Paris Saint-Germain in his debut game in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo finalized his spectacular transfer to the Saudi Arabian club, and it is estimated that he would make over £173 million a year there.
The agreement was reached when Ronaldo ended his association with United amicably in November as a result of a shocking interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo joined the Middle Eastern club after receiving no other offers, and he will “debut” against PSG on Thursday as a member of an all-star game.
In response to the agreement, Al-Hilal, Nassr’s rivals, started selling shirts with Messi’s name; nonetheless, the two are now scheduled to play one another in the Riyadh friendly.
The two biggest clubs in Saudi Arabian football, Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, have long been bitter rivals in the country’s capital city. Al-Nassr is currently in first place among the top two teams in the Saudi Pro League.
In fact, after 13 league games and only one loss, Ronaldo’s new team has the most goals scored (27) and the fewest goals allowed (six).
In the standings of the league, they are ahead of Al-Hilal, who have played one more game.
The two teams will come together for a one-off game against PSG, which will serve as Ronaldo’s debut game.
Lionel Messi is expected to play in the match, which will be the first time he and Cristiano Ronaldo have met since Juventus’ Champions League group-stage encounter against Barcelona in 2020.
The Ligue 1 champions are planning to field a quality lineup for the club. Turki Al-Sheikh, the current head of Saudi Arabia’s general entertainment administration, posted a video of Ronaldo donning a captain’s armband along with a suggestion that he will skipper the Saudi-based XI for the game.
Some people have criticized Ronaldo for deciding to end his career in Saudi Arabia. Following Messi’s World Cup victory, Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool player, disparaged him by drawing comparisons to Messi.
“In some ways, it’s a tragic end for him,” according to Carragher, who spoke to Sky Sports.
“Two of the finest players, Messi has won the World Cup, while Ronaldo ended his career during an interview with Piers Morgan. It’s hardly the most ideal method to go out.”
