Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Amid all sorts of speculations, it can now be confirmed that superstar footballers Lionel Messi and Critisano Ronaldo will meet again. Even though the two footballing giants no longer compete regularly in leagues with Messi migrating to the American club Inter Miami and Ronaldo plying his trade for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr.
While Saudi officials had confirmed earlier itself that Inter Miami will feature in the Riyad Season Cup, it was only on Monday (December 11) that the Major League Soccer (MLS) side confirmed the same. Earlier, the David Beckham co-owned club had said that reports of a Messi vs Ronaldo fixture in Saudi were not correct.
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The confirmation now means that while Inter Miami will be up against Al-Hilal on January 29, they will meet Al-Nassr- Ronaldo's side on February 1. The two teams that Messi's club will face against lead the Saudi Pro League points table in which the Portugal superstar happens to the leading goa-scorer.
"These matches will offer important tests for our team, which will benefit us as we approach the new season," Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson said in an official statement released by the club.
"We’re excited for our group to get the chance to go up against teams with as much quality as Al-Hilal and Al Nassr," he added.
It is pertinent to note that Messi and Ronaldo, the two names that have dominated the football world for a good part of the last two decades, have squared off against each other 35 times including club and country. Among these, Messi's side has come up on the winning side on 16 occasions while Ronaldo's team has been on the winning occasion 10 times. The two teams have settled for a draw on the other nine occasions. Messi has netted 21 goals, in addition to the 12 assistse in these fixtures. Ronaldo, meanwhile, has 20 goals and an assist while competing against Messi's side.