Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were expected to meet in Saudi Arabia but injury has ruled the Portugal captain out of Al Nassr vs. Inter Miami in the Riyadh Season Cup.
The game will take place little more than a year after a combined Al Hilal and Al Nassr team lost 5-4 to Messi's then-club, Paris Saint-Germain, with Messi scoring once and Ronaldo twice in the game.
Tickets to see the two players widely considered the best of their generation were always been at a premium when the pair have encountered each other in Europe.
Fans will have now have to wait a little longer for a Messi vs. Ronaldo "Last Dance", if they get one at all. For now, The Sporting News has the latest details on how to watch Messi on his latest visit to Saudi Arabia.
Messi vs Ronaldo tickets: How to buy for Al Nassr vs Inter Miami
Announcing their trip to Riyadh in December, Inter Miami said that tickets would be available on WeBook, where many of the events for the Riyadh Season, which the game is a part of, are advertised.
The site listed the starting price for tickets as 375 Saudi Riyals, or $100, as of January 31.
VIP tickets price for Messi vs Ronaldo match
According to seatpick.com, the platinum seating plan could cost punters as much as $11,214 for a single ticket for the match. Still, when it comes to Messi vs. Ronaldo, such a figure is a drop in the ocean compared to previous prices.
When these superstars last met, one wealthy fan paid $2.6 million for the privilege on that occasion, buying a 'Beyond Imagination' ticket, which was auctioned by the Saudi government's entertainment arm.
Organisers named Mushref Al-Ghamdi, the general manager of real estate group AqarOne, as the highest bidder.
As Al-Ghamdi might have expected for the cost, he was promised the opportunity to meet Ronaldo and Messi, access the team dressing rooms and attend the trophy award.
Bidding had started at $260,000 (£206,000), with Reuters reporting that the money would go to charity.
When is Messi vs Ronaldo friendly?
Inter Miami and Al Nassr will meet at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, February 1 at 1 p.m. ET (9 p.m. local time in Saudi Arabia). That's Wednesday, February 2 at 5 a.m. AEDT.
The match falls in the middle of Inter Miami's preseason slate, as they ready themselves for the 2024 campaign. It comes as the second of a two-game slate for Inter Miami against Saudi clubs, as they met league leaders Al Hilal on January 29. Neymar is a member of the Al Hilal squad, but he missed the match as he recovers from his torn ACL.
For Al Nassr, the match falls in the middle of their winter break, as they do not have any league fixtures scheduled between December 30 and February 15. They will use this match to help ready themselves for the stretch run of the season, as they chase Al Hilal in the league table while also compete in the AFC Champions League knockout stage.
What is the Riyadh Season Cup?
Riyadh Season is a state-sponsored entertainment and sports festival put on by the Saudi government which takes place across the nation's capital at some point during the winter, usually between October and March. The Riyadh Season Cup is an annual showcase match that's played during the heart of the Riyadh Season festival.
Started in 2019, the inaugural Riyadh Season went from October through January with the nation pulling in 10 million combined visitors to the event. It featured 12 different "zones" across Riyadh that held various events, including car shows, restaurant pop-ups, fairgrounds, and plenty of other shows, including sporting events such as WWE.
Last season, the event held a friendly between a Riyadh Season Team and PSG which pitted Lionel Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 2020/21 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Riyadh Season festival returned in late 2021, lasting the full season and featuring a larger area and new events such as a video game festival and a Pitbull concert.
The 2021/22 event was also meant to feature the first PSG visit as the French side was to come and play the Al Hilal / Al Nassr All-Stars, in what would have been the first of an annual friendly match. However, it was eventually postponed due to COVID-19 related restrictions, and PSG came to visit for the showcase last season to deliver on the highly anticipated matchup between Messi and Ronaldo.
Inter Miami preseason friendly schedule
Inter Miami's first confirmed friendly of the 2024 preseason saw the club travel to San Sebastian to take on the El Salvador national team on January 19.
They lost their opening Riyadh Season Cup match to Al Hilal 4-3 and will take on the Ronaldo-less Al Nassr before heading east to Hong Kong to play a match against an all-star squad from the Hong Kong First Division.
After that, Inter Miami will head to Tokyo to meet Japanese champions Vissel Kobe, where former Barcelona and VK midfielder Andres Iniesta will be a special guest.
There are also a few more preseason fixtures reported to be in the works for Inter Miami. There are reports of more matches to come in their tour of Asia, while games against Argentine clubs Newell's Old Boys and River Plate are rumored to be possibilities but not yet announced.
Inter Miami 2024 friendly schedule
| Date | Kickoff (ET) | Match | Location |
| Fri, Jan. 19, 2024 | 8 p.m. | Inter Miami vs. El Salvador | Estadio Cuscatlan (San Salvador, El Salvador) |
| Mon, Jan. 29, 2024 | 1 p.m. | Al Hilal vs. Inter Miami | Kingdom Arena (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) |
| Thu, Feb. 1, 2024 | 1 p.m. | Al Nassr vs. Inter Miami | Kingdom Arena (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) |
| Sun, Feb. 4, 2024 | 3 a.m. | Hong Kong All Stars vs. Inter Miami | Hong Kong Stadium (Causeway Bay, Hong Kong) |
| Wed, Feb. 7, 2024 | 5 a.m. | Vissel Kobe vs. Inter Miami | Japan National Stadium (Tokyo, Japan) |
Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo matchup history
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are this generation's most legendary players, and their rivalry has been well-documented throughout the last two decades.
The two have squared off 35 times across their careers in competitive club matches, with Messi winning 16 times to Ronaldo's 10, plus nine draws. Messi claimed the most recent face-off as PSG won their friendly matchup 5-4 in Riyadh last time around.
In their career matchups, Messi has scored 21 goals and 12 assists, while Ronaldo has logged 20 goals and one assist in those 35 games. If we include the Riyad Season encounter from last year and a couple of Argentina vs. Portugal friendlies in our calculations, then they are on 23 goals apiece against one another.