PSG 5-4 Saudi All-Star XI: Cristiano Ronaldo bags a brace on his debut

PSG 5-4 Saudi All-Star XI: Cristiano Ronaldo bags a brace on his debut… but it is Lionel Messi’s side that emerge victorious in nine goal thriller

  • Lionel Messi scored the opening goal of the game inside three minutes
  • Kylian Mbappe added to their tally but his goal was ruled out for offside  
  • Ronaldo equalised from the penalty spot after being clipped in the head 
  • Juan Bernat was sent off for Paris Saint-Germain after taking his player out
  • Marquinhos scored for PSG to make it 2-1, while Neymar missed a penalty
  • Ronaldo equalised before half time but Sergio Ramos scored after the break
  • Mbappe, Ekitike, Jang and Talisca also found the back of the net for both sides

With a king’s ransom in his pocket and a pawn’s responsibilities in his feet, the old boy finally got to work on Thursday night.

He was here in this most unusual of places and so was the other guy, two men locked in a dance that has gone on for 14 years. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – the order always mattered and what a treat that tango has been.

They have contested El Clasico, fought it out in the Champions League, squared off in the colours of their country, and together they have reached such magnificent heights.

Lionel Messi emerged victorious from his showdown with Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday

The World Cup winner scored the opening goal of the game inside three minutes

Kylian Mbappe added to Paris Saint-Germain’s tally but his goal was ruled out for offside

Could one have done it without the other? Possibly. Would it have been so special? No chance. Ali needed Frazier and Foreman. Nicklaus needed Palmer. Navratilova needed Evert. The Red Sox need the Yankees. Ronaldo needed Messi, Messi needed Ronaldo.

But maybe it is over now. Maybe this 37th jig of ageing rivals was the last we’ll see of them on the same pitch.

And there is a sadness in that, just as there is a curiosity in how it has come to this for one of the greatest footballers the world has seen. A curiosity of modern sport and a curiosity of international politics and a curiosity of the ego that led Ronaldo away from one life as a serious athlete and into another as a billboard or washcloth, depending on how you view these discussions.

Ronaldo equalised from the penalty spot after being clipped in the head from a corner

PSG goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, was shown a yellow card for the challenge (pictured above)

So perhaps this is how the rivalry ends, on a pitch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where a team of greats, led by Messi, Neymar and Killian Mbappe, contested an exhibition against the hybrid ‘All Stars’ of Al-Hilal and Al Nassr, the latter of whom will serve as Ronaldo’s new colleagues.

When it was done, Messi’s bunch had won 5-4. A good game, actually. Messi scored the first, Ronaldo responded with two of his own, and maybe he quite enjoyed that, just as the locals enjoyed seeing it. 

Truly, they love football in this country. But it was impossible to shake the thought that while Messi passes through on his tour as a World Cup winner, Ronaldo will stay right here. Fabulously wealthy to the beat of £173million a year, but a man for whom the pursuit of excellence is seemingly no longer what it was.

Paris Saint-Germain defender Juan Bernat was sent off after taking his player out

Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian defender Marquinhos scored his side’s second goal of the game

For now, his purpose seems to be facing other directions. He says it is about conquering Asia just as he conquered Europe, but he is also more than smart enough to know the game for which he is being deployed off the pitch. 

The game of inspiring the youth of a football-mad nation, to go by the spoken accounts of those who brought him here, and the wider game of cleaning the reputation of a country with an image problem, to go by those whose business it is to monitor human rights.

That will be a significant part of Ronaldo’s narrative moving on, just as it has been for Messi in his alliance with Qatar and his role as a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia, who no doubt would move heaven, earth and a gazillion barrels of oil to get him here on a more permanent arrangement. 

That they reunited here, at the King Fahd Stadium, was cause enough for Amnesty International to voice dire concerns, with one of their directors, Peter Frankental saying: ‘This match is a reminder that Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing efforts are operating at full throttle.’

Neymar was awarded a penalty but had his effort saved during the friendly on Thursday night

Ronaldo equalised before half time but Sergio Ramos added to PSG’s tally after the break

He would go on to detail 81 executions in a single day last March, and draconian sentences handed to those protesting for women’s rights. That will be Ronaldo’s backdrop now, just as it has been for those in Formula One, boxing, LIV golf and other areas of the most rapidly expanding empire sport has known.

MATCH FACTS: 

Saudi All-Star XI: Ospina; Al Boleahi, Al Burayk, Al Juwayr, Cuellar, Konan; Gonzalez; Ighalo, Marega, Cristiano Ronaldo, Talisca

PSG: Keylor Navas, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Sergio Ramos, Juan Bernat, Fabian Ruiz, Carlos Soler, Renato Sanches, Neymar Jr, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe

Whether that is a consideration for most sports fans is open to debate. For many it is a grave concern; for many others, the headers, volleys, chips and putts are enough of the content they need.

Which takes us back to the grand unveiling. By the time Ronaldo took to the pitch for the warm-up, 10 yards ahead of his nearest team-mate, naturally, he was already richer by £10m for his time in Saudi Arabia, and quite possibly deafened too by the reception.

They can fit 67,000 in this stadium and claimed it was sold out in minutes of tickets going on sale, even if that did appear to fail the eye test, going by the number of visible blue seats. Equally conspicuous was the swathes of red reserved for the great and good. 

We can safely assume one was filled by Mushref al-Ghamdi, the real estate mogul who paid the thick end of £2.2m at auction for his place in the moment, though there was no confirmation of any royal presence, in the grander sense of the word.

Perhaps that in itself is part of the wider story. Perhaps this was just another day in the scheme of using sport to beam a certain picture. The biggest day to date, sure, but just one more, nonetheless, and by any sound reasoning, the most significant and most powerful figures in Saudi Arabia are not those who kick footballs.

Mbappe, Ekitike (above), Jang and Talisca found the back of the net for both sides

Ronaldo was subbed off before he could claim a hat-trick but the fans seemed to be impressed

For a time, it appeared Messi would hijack the show – scoring after three minutes was a superb act of trolling. But Ronaldo levelled with a penalty after being smacked in the face while contesting a cross with Keylor Navas, his old pal from those long gone days at Real Madrid. 

PSG were soon 2-1 ahead, albeit with 10 men, and after Neymar missed a penalty, Ronaldo got his second and the place went berserk. He attempted his siuuu celebration but a team-mate grounded his jump – he will no doubt learn the protocol.

After some meandering, the details of which were always going to be incidental, the score reached 5-3 and then both Messi and Ronaldo were substituted after an hour. The place fell silent in bemusement, and more so when there was no embrace of long-time rivals. Not even a glance.

Maybe that was an anti-climax. Maybe like a few other things, it was a bit sad too.




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