Who is the sheik who paid 2.6 million dollars to see Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?

We have spent our lives comparing them, and today it no longer makes any sense. One has just risen to the top at 35 years old, while the other became an undesirable for the powerful in Europe at almost 38 years old.

That if one has aged more wisely by becoming an excellent passer, unlike the other who is no longer enough to be a ball pusher, what does it matter. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have given us emotions, beauty, and topics to discuss over a few beers for a decade and a half.

If one scored three goals, the other repeated the feat almost immediately and so ‘ad infinitum’. But everything has its end. They are no longer at the same football level. The distance is noticeable. That’s why we should stop things and enjoy today’s game at noon for the Riyadh Season Cup, in Saudi Arabia. We don’t know how many more excuses will be presented in the coming years to see them face to face on a court.

Today’s match between Paris Saint Germain and a combination of Al Hilal –André Carrillo’s team– and Al Nassr –Cristiano Ronaldo’s team– is undoubtedly about money. No one would have to blush. Otherwise it would be crazy that in the middle of the Ligue 1 tournament and a month after facing Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the Champions League, PSG put all its stars on a plane to play a game in the Middle East .

It has transpired that the French club will receive around ten million euros for participating in this friendly, at the King Fahd Stadium in the city of Riyadh. But that does not mean that they, billionaires after all, do not go for glory. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are above all things competitive animals. Let’s not lose sight of him.

The match, by the way, will be broadcast on the official channel of the Parisian club: PSG TV and the beIN Sports chain, as well as through the different digital platforms of the Messi, Neymar and Mbappé team.

paid whim

A Saudi sheik named Mushref al-Ghamdiwho has amassed his fortune thanks to the real estate sector, has paid 2.6 million dollars for a VIP ticket for today’s duel, as if it were a single that remained in his pocket.

The organization of the event held an auction for charitable purposes and the tycoon spared no expense. With his ticket, Al Ghamdi will have access to the changing rooms and will be able to take photos with all the stars.

And they are not few. We know those of PSG by heart: the Italian Donnarumma, the Brazilian Marquinhos and the Spanish Sergio Ramos in the central defense, and the most fearsome trident in Europe: the self-assurance of Neymar, the power of Mbappé and the wisdom of Messi.

As for the rival, whose coach will be Marcelo Gallardo, multi-champion with River Plate, the presence of the Brazilians Luiz Gustavo, former Bayern Munich, and Anderson Talisca, ex-Benfica and ex-Besiktas, stands out; the Argentine Gonzalo ‘Pity’ Martínez, a midfielder with a happy past at River Plate and, of course, André Carrillo, the ‘Culebra’, who has been particularly sparkling in training.

The meeting will be a breath of fresh air for Cristiano Ronaldo who had a nightmare year 2022: he fought with half the world, he warmed up the bench, he did not have a leading role in Manchester United nor in his last World Cup. Enshrined in Qatar 2022, Messi has no more pressure on his feet. The public awaits with expectation the duel between these two giants. To enjoy.