The two former La Liga stars, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, will meet in Riyadh on Thursday in a friendly. If the first has been playing at PSG since 2021, the five-time Ballon d’Or, new player for Al Nassr, will be part of a selection of Saudi teams (Al Nassr and Al Hilal). To see this particular match, prices have soared in recent hours. Indeed, a Saudi real estate magnate paid 2.4 million euros at auction, the organizer of the sale announced on Tuesday.
To promote this friendly match, Turki al-Sheikh, adviser to the Royal Court and head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, had launched a charity auction. At stake: a ticket to the match with VIP benefits such as photo opportunities with the players and access to the dressing rooms. The auction, which started at 1 million Saudi riyals (245,000 euros), ended with an offer of 10 million riyals (2.4 million euros) formulated by a real estate magnate, Mushref al-Ghamdi .
The match will be Cristiano Ronaldo’s first in the Saudi kingdom since signing from Al-Nassr in late December. It will precede his league debut, scheduled for Sunday.
