/skyfair-news/media/agency_attachments/9rkuzSNg4i8sCUVbaBqx.png)
/skyfair-news/media/media_files/s8kY5vLU8jKFv16kPR3J.png)
Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo (Source: Twitter)
The preseason club-friendly match between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami took place yesterday. Unfortunately, Ronaldo was not present during the match since he is recovering from an injury. However, even without the legend the Sudi boys managed to be the ones who had completely dominated Inter in this game. The likes of Ronaldo were replaced with the upcoming Saudi Arabian striker Mohammed Maran in the mix. The fans didn’t even get to see Lionel Messi as much on the pitch as well, so this was not the rivalry game that the crowd were hoping for when they came to watch the game.
The match was a one-sided affair where Al Nassr was in control of the game throughout the full 90 minutes they played. The first strike of the match happened in just the third minute by Portuguese mid-fielder Otavio and from there, it was a full-on dominating performance with Talisca scoring an amazing hattrick and Aymeric Laporte and Maran just added salt to the wounds of the Inter Miami side. This was a shocking result since there were some great players in the Miami squad which featured the likes of Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alaba.
Ronaldo’s evil smile
In the ongoing match, Ronaldo was not even on the bench and Messi had spent most of his time off the field as well. We could all see the disappointed look on the World Cup golden ball winner as he was looking worried and restless during the game. As soon as the camera started focussing on the legendary player, another camera also got a glimpse of Ronaldo sitting in the stands and giving a vicious smile to the reactions of Messi on the field. This was almost on the same page as the winking incident in the 2006 World Cup as well.
Watch the video below-
— Out Of Context Football (@nocontextfooty) February 1, 2024
This also shows that the rivalry between these two players is still alive even during the last phase of their careers. We might not have got them competing on the field, but we still saw one of those normal sparks which we saw in the past ventures featuring these two greats. The smile on Messi’s animated reaction says a lot about Ronaldo, who still has that competitive streak inside him even if he has not come face to face against Messi in a long time. We will still want them to play against each other on the field and still keep the rivalry alive even after such a long break.