Last night at the King Fahd Stadium, Saudi Arabia, an old rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi was renewed after a wait of 2 years. The anticipation of this match was extremely high because both the teams were star-studded and it was most probably the last meeting between CR7 and LM10.
Love someone who looks at you like Messi looks at Cristiano Ronaldo 🥂#CR7𓃵 pic.twitter.com/d4Z5Q5hZAq
— Sarah (@_m__sara) January 19, 2023
It was a goal fest in front of a sold out King Fahd Stadium with 68,000 fans inside. Both the GOATs got into the score sheet within the first half. But Lionel Messi landed the first blow within 3 minutes into the match. However, Ronaldo equalized through a penalty followed by another goal in 45+6.
All in all it was a perfect debut for Ronaldo in the Saudi Arabian circuit but still his side was the at losing end but he did score a brace and one goal more than World champion Messi.
The ending score-line was 5-4 in favor of Paris Saint Germain. Lionel Messi, Marquinhos, Sergio Ramos, Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike all scored for PSG. Riyadh XI on the other hand had goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Jang Hyun-Soo and Talisca.
But before the 9 goals were scored, there was a moment that probably every football fan waited for. It was that link-up between Messi & Ronaldo, just seconds before Kick-off which made all the news. Before the referee blew the whistle to begin the game, Messi was seen glancing at Ronaldo as they shook hands and exchanged some words too.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi embracing before a match for what might be the last time.
Who's cutting onions? 🥹
(via benblack/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/cLHlKXFXar
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 19, 2023
Fans had different interpretations towards Messi’s look. Here is what Twitter had to say –
Messi vs Ronaldo's reaction when fans run up on then
1.Messi is so calm 😊 pic.twitter.com/1Wv3LYfjO8
— CDOB (@Real_Cdob) November 28, 2022
Today we witnessed the most relaxed version of Messi and the most tensed version of Ronaldo ever seen😭😭 pic.twitter.com/jOD9EQO1Yg
— Troll Football (@Troll_Fotballl) January 19, 2023
Ronaldo & Messi.
What a picture… and of course they’ve both already scored. #riyadh pic.twitter.com/2JAjztxmiS— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 19, 2023
Messi has more goals in Saudi Arabia than Ronaldo and he doesn’t even play there😭😭 pic.twitter.com/hBRmHdwyoP
— Troll Football (@Troll_Fotballl) January 19, 2023
And Now Ronaldo has more goals against Ligue 1 top 5 team than Messi in the last 2 years https://t.co/8oOZTdCD44
— Delta (@UTD_DELTA) January 19, 2023
Ronaldo and Messi both shared their picture with each other on Insta & that's huge thing 🔥👏#CR7𓃵 #Messi𓃵 pic.twitter.com/Hgt2BcmFfb
— Ragaa (@Ragaa_07) January 19, 2023