Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi denied ‘last dance’ after injury strike
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a final meeting with Lionel Messi after the Portuguese star was ruled out of Al-Nassr’s friendly against Inter Miami due to injury.
Ronaldo and Messi are likely to share the field for the last time in the Riyadh Cup of the season, but Al-Nassr confirmed that Ronaldo has not recovered in time for Thursday’s match.
Messi was in action earlier this week when his Inter Miami side faced Al-Hilal, scoring a second-half penalty in Riyadh’s 4-3 defeat.
Inter Miami’s match against Al-Nassr was called “The Last Dance” because Messi and Ronaldo competed against Barcelona and Real Madrid, but Ronaldo was left out.
andquot;We will not see [Messi against Ronaldo],’ said Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro.
“Ronaldo is in the final stages of recovery to join the group. We hope you will be able to start working with the team in the coming days. He’s out of the game.andquot;
Messi and Ronaldo, who turns 39 on February 5, have met 35 times in their careers. Messi has scored 16 times and Ronaldo 10.
Messi, who is 36, and Ronaldo have competed for more than a decade. they competed for the title of the best player in the world and repeatedly locked horns on the field in fierce clashes between Barcelona and Real Madrid in El Classico.
Messi and Ronaldo won 13 Golden awards, with the Argentine leading eight to five. Messi’s victory with Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar also gave him an advantage over his Portuguese counterpart.
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Messi and Ronaldo eventually left the elite level of the club game at the end of their careers. Messi now plays for Inter Miami in the US and Ronaldo joins Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia. Pro League after leaving Manchester United.
In September, Ronaldo declared their rivalry “over” and said it was time for fans to stop “hating” the other player.
“Hate? I don’t see such things, the competition is over, said Ronaldo. “It was good, the audience liked it. People who like Cristiano Ronaldo don’t have to hate Messi and vice versa.
“We did well, we changed football history. We are respected all over the world, that is the most important thing.
“He went his way and I went my way, regardless of whether I play outside Europe. From what I’ve seen, he’s fine, and so am I. The legacy lives on, but I don’t see competition as such.
“We shared the stage many times, it was 15 years. I won’t say we are friends, I never had dinner with him, but we are professional colleagues and we respect each other..
