“The last match” is the media’s name for the friendly match between Al-Nassr and Inter Miami, taking place at 1:00 a.m. on February 2 (Vietnam time). Ronaldo is about to celebrate his 39th birthday, and Messi is also 36 years old.
This match was held within the framework of the Riyadh Cup, part of the entertainment event series “Riyadh Season” in Saudi Arabia. This year, the organizing committee invited Inter Miami to attend the tournament with two local football teams, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr.
The football world thought it would once again witness a classic competition between Ronaldo and Messi. If it comes true, this will likely be the last match between the two best contemporary soccer superstars.
But then one day before the match, Al-Nassr club said Ronaldo would not participate in the match due to injury.
“Ronaldo is in the final stages of injury recovery. He needs to pass this stage before he can return to training with the main squad. We will evaluate the situation in the next few days, hopefully I hope everything will go well with Ronaldo. In the immediate future, the team will play without Ronaldo in the upcoming match”, Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro announced.
The Portuguese superstar was reported by the media to have suffered a calf injury 2 weeks ago. Because of this injury, the Al-Nassr club had to cancel their tour in China.
And now he once again makes football fans disappointed. The Riyadh Cup organizing committee previously said they earned up to $12 million in ticket sales.
2 days ago, Inter Miami faced Al-Hilal in the first match of the Riyadh Cup. Messi’s team lost 3-4 but the Argentine superstar still scored 1 goal and contributed 1 assist.
Messi currently overwhelms Ronaldo in terms of head-to-head achievements. In 36 direct confrontations (at both club and national team levels), Messi won 16, lost 11, drew 9. He also scored 22 goals and contributed 11 assists, more than 21. goal, 1 assist from Ronaldo.