Tue 10 January 2023:
Al-Nassr head coach Rudi Garcia has confirmed that new signing Cristiano Ronaldo could make his debut in Saudi Arabia as part of an all-star XI in a friendly against Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG announced on Monday that it will compete in a friendly match on January 19 in Riyadh against a combined side made up of players from Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr and Al Hilal, the current champion of the Asian Champions League.
PSG is visiting Saudi Arabia during a two-day break in the region, which will include a promotional visit to Doha with the club’s Qatari sponsors.
Over the last 15 years, Ronaldo and Argentina’s Messi have dominated the sport, winning the Ballon d’Or 12 times each.
Their rivalry grew during the nine years they played each other in Spain, when Messi played for Barcelona and Ronaldo for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo became a free agent in November 2022 after agreeing to leave Manchester United.
Ronaldo is poised to make his Al Nassr debut against Ettifaq on January 22 – but Garcia expects Ronaldo to play against PSG three days earlier in a combined Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal XI,
“It [his debut] won’t be with the Al Nassr jersey,” Garcia was quoted as saying by L’Équipe.
“It will be a mix between Al Hilal and Al Nassr. As the coach of Al Nassr, I cannot be happy with this match.
“For development, to see PSG, to see the great Parisian players, indeed it is a good thing. But we have a championship game three days later.
“In terms of scheduling, it could have been better thought out. But it’s not a big deal … We are in the lead, we are happy. It is a difficult championship to win, but we intend to do it.”
The 37-year-old was unveiled at his new club last week but he is currently serving a FA suspension after knocking a phone out of a supporter’s hand following Man United’s defeat away against Everton in April.
Ronaldo served the first of his two-game ban on Friday and watched on from the dressing room as Al-Nassr secured a 2-0 home victory over Al-Ta’ee in the Saudi Pro League.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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