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The Riyadh Season Cup match between Inter Miami and Al Nassr has kicked off without its two star attractions on the pitch after Cristiano Ronaldo was ruled out of the friendly with injury and Lionel Messi was named on the bench.
The Saudi Pro League club’s head coach Luís Castro said on Wednesday that Ronaldo would not be able to play in the match due to a calf injury, but Messi’s reason for not starting the match has not been officially announced.
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There was confusion ahead of kick off as to whether Messi would be included in Miami’s squad at all after the MLS team posted a teamsheet on X, formerly known as Twitter, with his name absent.
However, that post was deleted and a new teamsheet that had Messi included on the bench was shared.
The game, hosted at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, had been billed as the final club meeting of the two stars who dominated European football for a decade, most notably during their spells with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Messi and Ronaldo have faced off 36 times through the years in matches for club and country, with Messi’s teams winning 16, Ronaldo’s teams winning 11 and the sides settling for a draw on the other nine occasions. Messi has 22 goals and 11 assists in those matches; Ronaldo has 21 goals and one assist.
Ronaldo, who has won five Ballon d’Or awards to Messi’s eight, watched the match from the stands.
With the Saudi Pro League on its midseason break, Al Nassr planned to play two fixtures in China against Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang before the match against Miami in Riyadh.
But Ronaldo issued a public apology on Jan. 23 after his calf injury contributed to Al Nassr’s postponement of their tour of the country.
Inter Miami, who lost 4-3 to Al Hilal on Monday, travelled to Saudi Arabia as part of their preseason tour. They are due to travel to Asia to face a Hong Kong XI on Feb. 4.