Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo

It was an implosion for every football fan across the globe as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar shared the pitch in Riyadh. It was a friendly between a combined XI from Al Nassr and Al Hilal, called as the Riyadh All-Star team versus Paris Saint-Germain. The game was a glitzy affair as alongside the four greats, the likes of Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Gianluigi Donnarumma too graced the pitch.

PSG emerged as 5-4 victorious, as both the teams shot up the glamour of the fixture in a nine goal thriller. Cristiano Ronaldo, who captained the Riyadh All-Star, bagged a brace, whereas Messi, Mbappe, Ramos and Marquinhos too were on the scoresheet for the Parisians. However, it was the clash of the titans which was more enticing for the fans than the ball being kicked for 90 minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo
It was the biggest event in Riyadh as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi squared-off for one last time. Credits: Twitter

Fans cherish video of Cristiano Ronaldo welcoming Messi, Mbappe, Neymar to Riyadh

It had almost been a month since Cristiano Ronaldo touched down on the Saudi soil as an Al Nassr player. The Riyadh-based club signed the forward as a free agent after his former side Manchester United sacked him on the pretext of his explosive interview with Piers Morgan wherein he slammed the club left and right, laying bare their shortcomings both on and off the football field.

Al Nassr signed Ronaldo on the richest contract which spans across 2.5 years and will make him the highest paid athlete the world of sports has ever witnessed, let alone football. The whopping deal gobsmacked the world which went on to pit Ronaldo ahead of Messi and Mbappe as the highest earners in football with almost a triple margin. However, the Portuguese’s debut was pending in Saudi, which finally came against PSG.

Although his Al Nassr debut is still pending, Ronaldo at last kicked the ball for the first time in Saudi since joining the Riyadh-based outfit. He then went on to welcome PSG stars Messi, Mbappe and Neymar in the tunnel by greeting them with a warm hug. The video footage captured of the same has went viral as fans still can’t catch a breathe watching it on the loop.

The game was further lighten up by the two GOATs, with Messi opening the scoring right in the third minute and Ronaldo bagging a brace to twice pull his side on level twice. Mbappe and Ramos too joined the party, scoring a goal each in the second half, as only Neymar was the one who missed out on an opportunity to get on the scoresheet by missing a penalty.

Cristiano Ronaldo was named man of the match despite being on the losing side and getting substituted at the hour mark. Messi, Mbappe and Neymar too came-off just two minutes after the hour mark as the quartet served the fans with a mouthwatering 60-minute show in Riyadh. While Ronaldo will now turn his attention to debut for Al Nassr in their next game against Ettifaq, the PSG stars return to Paris as they will prepare for their French Cup Round of 32 against Pays de Cassel.