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A ticket for an upcoming friendly featuring Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has sold for over £2m.
The two modern greats are set to go head-to-head in Saudi Arabia this Thursday as PSG (opens in new tab) take on an all-star Saudi XI comprising players from Al Hilal and Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr in the Gulf state’s capital, Riyadh.
Ronaldo will captain the all-star team, while Messi is expected to feature for PSG – despite the game taking place during the Ligue 1 giants’ season.
And one spectator will have splashed out a fair amount for the privilege of seeing two of the greatest players of all time face off: according to the Mirror (opens in new tab), Saudi businessman Musharraf bin Ahmed Al-Ghamdi secured his seat for £2.2m (with the ticket originally priced at a comparatively modest £200,000). It is said to be the most expensive football ticket ever sold.
Thursday’s match will effectively serve as Ronaldo’s debut for Al Nassr – who he joined after his Manchester United (opens in new tab) contract was terminated during the 2022 World Cup, where he was dropped before Portugal went out to Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Messi, of course, fared rather differently out in Qatar, producing a string of inspired performances as Argentina captain to finally get his hands on the most famous trophy of all.
The two multiple Ballon d’Or winners haven’t played each other since December 2020, when Ronaldo bagged a brace as his Juventus (opens in new tab) side won 3-0 away to Messi’s Barcelona (opens in new tab) in the Champions League.
