In a big blow to the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi faceoff in the Riyadh Season Cup, the Al-Nassr superstar has been ruled out of the match against Inter Miami due to an injury. The news means, the match which was being looked upon as the 'last dance' with the two superstars who dominated the world of football in the first two decades of the 21st century will not be able to lock horns against each during the club-friendly slated on February 1 (Thursday).
"We will not see [Messi vs Ronaldo], Ronaldo is in the final part of his recovery to join the group. We hope that in the next few days you can start working with the team. He will be absent from the game," the Saudi Arabian club manager Luis Castro said at a pre-match conference.
Was This The Last Possibility Of Messi vs Ronaldo?
With age catching up on the two football superstars, there is a possibility that the Messi vs Ronaldo fixture during the Riyadh Season Cup could have been the last time they would have faced each other. With Ronaldo set to turn 39 in February and Messi turning 37 in July, there might not be opportunities ahead of them to come face-to-face after sharing the football's biggest stage and the podium of the some of the most prestigious awards in the sport for so long.
Ronaldo has gone on record his desire to continue playing into his 40s, on the other hand, unconfirmed reports suggest that Messi is likely to leave Miami when his contract expires with the Major League Soccer (MLS) side and return to the club where it all started for him- the Newell's Old Boys. Messi's Inter Miami is currently on a pre-season tour of Saudi Arabia and will take on Al-Nassr, in a clash whose sheen seems to have come off with Ronaldo being ruled out, on February 1 beginning 11:30 pm (IST).