Due to an injury, Cristiano Ronaldo will not be able to enjoy the highly awaited reunion with Lionel Messi. Luis Castro, the Al-Nassr coach, remarked Wednesday. Over their stellar football careers, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have faced off against one another 37 times. However, this week will not feature the “Last Dance” between the players that football fans around the world had anticipated. Al Nassr coach Luis Castro informed reporters on Wednesday that Ronaldo will miss Thursday’s Riyadh Season Cup match between Messi’s Inter Miami and Al Nassr due to a calf issue.
Inter Miami vs Al Nassr
Today’s Inter Miami vs. Al Nassr match will be aired on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and will kick off at 1 p.m. ET. Ronaldo “is in the final part of his recovery to join the group. We hope that in the next few days, he can start working with the team. He will be absent from the game,” Castro said. The footballer is recovering from a calf injury and won’t be able to play in today’s match between Al-Nassr and Inter Miami in Riyadh. “Cristiano is in the final stage of his recuperation before re-joining the team. We expect that in the next few days he will start working with the team. So, obviously, it will mean he is absent for the game (against Inter Miami),” Castro said at a news conference.
“Cristiano is in the final stage of his recuperation before re-joining the team. We expect that in the next few days he will start working with the team. So, obviously, it will mean he is absent for the game (against Inter Miami),” Castro said at a news conference.
Ronaldo’s Ailment
The first indication of Ronaldo’s ailment came on January 23, when Al Nassr was forced to postpone two preseason games in China because of the player’s injury. Two games in Saudi Arabia were part of Miami’s preseason trip, and the most anticipated event was the newest chapter in that rivalry. But when Ronaldo got hurt and Al-Nassr had to cancel two exhibition games in China this month, it was called into question. Messi scored during Monday’s 4-3 loss of Miami against Al-Hilal.
Will Ronaldo and Messi meet again in 2025?
There are no current plans to reschedule a prospective match between Ronaldo and Messi, but Ronaldo and Al Nassr aim to reschedule their trip to China. The game today was described as “The Last Dance” and might have been the last time Ronaldo and Messi ever shared the field. If they were to cross paths again, the Riyadh Season Cup in 2025 seems like a possible venue.
Messi has a sizable fan base in Saudi Arabia and has participated in the last two Riyadh Season Cups when he met Ronaldo last year. Recently, Messi appeared in a commercial for Saudi travel. Messi and Inter Miami might be amenable to returning to Saudi Arabia for their preseason in 2025, and a showdown with Ronaldo and Al Nassr would generate the same kind of excitement and anticipation as the encounter this year before Ronaldo’s injury.
The last time Messi and Ronaldo played against each other
It might have been an exhibition rather than the close games that Spanish football supporters have witnessed all over the world throughout their careers. However, following their most recent match, Messi and Ronaldo even more enthralled the spectators.During the Riyadh Season Cup in January of last year, Ronaldo scored two goals for a Saudi All-Star squad, but they lost 5–4 to Messi, who scored one goal for his former team, Paris Saint-Germain.
Three minutes into the game, Messi scored his first goal since helping Argentina win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In the 34th minute, Ronaldo responded, and in the first half’s extra time, he scored a penalty kick. During the game, they played for sixty minutes.
By: Gursharan Kaur