Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi shared the same pitch for first time in three years since the Portuguese led Juventus to beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League group stages in October 2020.
Ronaldo joined an All-Star XI of Saudi Arabia Pro League giants Al Nassr and Al Hilal as they clash with Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly encounter in Riyadh.
Incidentally Ronaldo was making his debut in the Arabian peninsula since his mega-money move to Al Nassr.
The two global superstars have shared the spotlight together for over a decade having won between themselves 13 Ballon d’Or trophies with Messi winning two more than his compatriot.
The Argentina World Cup winner opened the scoring in three minutes after firing home from an acute angle.
As expected Ronaldo responded and converted from the spot after he was fouled inside the penalty box by Keylor Navas.
Juan Bernat was dismissed at 1-1 in the opening half but Marquinhos would react quick to poke home from close range to put PSG back in front through Kylian Mbappe’s cross.
Neymar failed to extend PSG’s lead before the interval as his weak penalty was saved.
Moments later Ronaldo leveled on the stroke half time but Ramos scored after the resumption to make it 3-2.
Mbappe scored from the spot while substitute Hugo Ekitiké added a well composed finish to to the lead for the visitors before Jang Hyun-Soo finding the of the net from outside the box with a sensational strike to reduce the deficit for Riyadh All-Stars.