Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia when Portugal captain Al Nassr’s side take on the Argentine icon’s club, Inter Miami.
The match comes just over a year after a combined Al Hilal and Al Nassr side lost 5-4 to Messi’s then-club Paris Saint-Germain, with Messi scoring once and Ronaldo scoring twice.
Tickets for the two strikers, widely regarded as the best of their generation, have always been expensive when the pair meet in Europe.
Messi vs Ronaldo Tickets: How to Buy for Al Nassr vs Inter Miami
In announcing their trip to Riyadh in December, Inter Miami said tickets would be available on WeBook, which advertises many events for the Riyadh season, which the game is part of.
While events such as Tyson Fury’s heavyweight bout with Oleksandr Usyk in February have been advertised, tickets for that bout have not appeared on the site since January 16.
Retailer sites such as Viagogo also reported that tickets for the match were not available at the time. This page will be updated as more details become available.
Price of VIP tickets for Messi vs Ronaldo match
Details of VIP tickets for the game have yet to be announced, but the price at which they were sold when Messi and Ronaldo last met shows how eager some fans are to watch the superstars in action.
One wealthy fan paid $2.6m (£2.1m) for the privilege on the occasion, buying a ‘Beyond Imagination’ ticket auctioned off by the Saudi government entertainment organisation.
Organizers named Mushref Al-Ghamdi, CEO of AqarOne real estate group, as the highest bidder.
As Al-Ghamdi might have expected for the price, he was promised the opportunity to meet Ronaldo and Messi, get into the team’s dressing room and attend the trophy presentation.
Bidding started at $260,000 (£206,000), with Reuters reporting that the money would go to charity.
When is Messi vs Ronaldo friendly?
Messi and Ronaldo will meet in a club friendly between Inter Miami and Al Nassr at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, February 1 at 1 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. GMT (9:00 p.m. local time in Saudi Arabia). That’s Wednesday 2 February at 5am AEDT.
The match falls in the middle of Inter Miami’s pre-season table as they prepare for the 2024 campaign. It comes as the second of Inter Miami’s two games against Saudi Arabian clubs as they face league leaders Al Hilal on January 29. Neymar is a member of the Al Hilal squad but will miss the game as he recovers from a torn ACL.
The game is in the middle of the winter break for Al Nassr as they have no league games scheduled between December 30 and February 15. They will use this match to prepare for a long run of the season as they chase down Al Hilal in the league table while also competing in the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League.
Broadcast details for the two friendlies will be announced at a later date, according to Inter Miami’s official statement.
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