Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will go head-to-head in a huge friendly match dubbed ‘The Last Dance’.
The two stars, widely regarded as two of the greatest players ever to play football, will face off next year in a friendly match that has box office written all over it. Both Messi and Ronaldo made lucrative moves to MLS and the Saudi Professional League last year respectively, with the Argentina icon capping off his World Cup success with a move to Inter Miami, where he lit up the pitch in the US while Ronaldo completed his return to Manchester United. Failed to move to victory.
The two clubs have scheduled a friendly match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February next year, as part of the season cup competitions in the city. The pair, who are often used as opposing arguments in the controversial question of who is the greatest of all time, have faced each other 36 times at club and country level.
The majority of their moves came with Messi on the turf at Barcelona and Ronaldo cementing his legacy at Real Madrid. Messi leads the record in direct confrontations with 16 wins in competitive matches compared to 11 for Ronaldo, with the duo involved in nine draws when they have drawn.
Incredibly, Argentina scored 22 goals in those matches compared to Ronaldo’s 21. The dynamic duo went head-to-head earlier this year when Paris Saint-Germain beat a mixed Saudi Professional League team 5-4 in a friendly match.
Ronaldo bagged a brace in his first match in the Middle East. Messi also scored a goal for the Ligue 1 side.
