Thursday’s highly anticipated football showdown between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr ended in a surprising 6-0 victory for Al Nassr, leaving fans stunned. The clash, part of the Riyadh Season Cup, saw Messi relegated to a late substitute appearance, while Ronaldo, nursing a calf injury, watched from the stands.
Amid pre-game confusion, Miami initially excluded Messi from the squad on social media but later corrected the lineup, placing him on the bench. The Riyadh crowd eagerly awaited Messi’s entry, but by the 83rd minute, Al Nassr had already secured a commanding lead, with Brazilian Anderson Talisca netting a hat trick and Aymeric Laporte scoring from his own half.
The match was promoted as the final club face-off between Messi and Ronaldo, icons who dominated European football for a decade. Ronaldo, a spectator due to his calf injury, witnessed Al Nassr’s onslaught. Over their careers, Messi and Ronaldo have clashed 36 times, with Messi’s teams triumphing 16 times, Ronaldo’s 11, and nine draws. Messi boasts 22 goals and 11 assists in these encounters, while Ronaldo has 21 goals and one assist.
As the Saudi Pro League takes a midseason break, Al Nassr, originally planning fixtures in China, shifted their focus to Miami. Ronaldo, apologizing for the injury-related tour postponement, contributed to a memorable match in Riyadh, leaving Inter Miami to regroup for their upcoming preseason engagements.
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