Inter Miami star Lionel Messi will take part in Thursday’s friendly against Al-Nassr in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to ESPN FC, Messi was not included in the team roster for the match, which was first billed as “The Last Dance,” as it may have been the last time Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo faced each other.
Messi’s absence from the lineup comes after Al-Nassr head coach Luís Castro announced on Wednesday that Ronaldo would miss the match because he had still fully recovered from the injury, according to Kyle Bonn of Sporting News.
Messi suffers a hamstring injury, while Ronaldo is recovering from a calf injury.
ESPN’s Chris Wright noted that Messi and Ronaldo have played 36 competitive matches against each other during their illustrious careers. Messi has the upper hand with 16 wins, 11 losses and nine draws.
Their last competitive meeting took place in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League stage, in which Ronaldo scored twice in Juventus’ 3-0 win over Barcelona.
More recently, Messi and Ronaldo faced off in a friendly in January 2023 between Paris Saint-Germain and the Saudi Pro League XI. Ronaldo scored twice and Messi scored once, as the Saudi side won 5-4.
Messi and Ronaldo are reaching the twilight of their careers, as Messi turns 36, while Ronaldo will turn 39 on Monday.
Even if neither of them were to play any more games, they would still be two of the greatest footballers of all time.
Messi is second all-time with 821 goals in all competitions, and is a four-time UEFA Champions League winner with Barcelona, one-time FIFA World Cup winner, and one-time winner of the Copa América with Argentina, in addition to eight. Ballon d’Or winner, two-time FIFA World Cup Ballon d’Or winner and FIFA World Cup Silver Boot winner.
Ronaldo is the most level-headed goalscorer of all time with 873 goals. He also won the UEFA Champions League 4 times with Real Madrid and once with Manchester United, and won the UEFA European Championship with Portugal in 2016. Ronaldo also won the Ballon d’Or five times and won the UEFA European Championship Golden Boot in 2020.
Messi and Ronaldo have spent most of their careers at top European clubs and have faced others in many big games, but that might not be the case for Messi in the United States and Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
Unless another friendly is planned in the future, it is conceivable that Messi and Ronaldo have faced each other for the last time.