Star-Studded Showdown Turns Damp Squib: Ronaldo-Messi Face-Off Fizzles in Riyadh
Touted as \u201cThe Last Dance,\u201d the eagerly awaited showdown between Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s Al-Nassr and Lionel Messi\u2019s Inter Miami left numerous Saudi supporters of the footballing icons feeling underwhelmed, despite a resounding 6-0 victory for the Riyadh-based club.
Local enthusiasts, gearing up for Roshn Saudi League action, undoubtedly relished Al-Nassr\u2019s triumph. However, disappointment lingered as Ronaldo sat out due to injury, with Messi making a brief appearance in the closing moments, contrary to earlier reports suggesting his omission from the Major League Soccer team\u2019s match-day squad.
Al-Nassr\u2019s dominance was evident through Anderson Talisca\u2019s hat-trick, complemented by goals from Otavio, Aymeric Laporte, and Mohammed Marran, while cameras captured Ronaldo observing the match from the stands, visibly content.
Social media platforms buzzed with discontent over the absence of the star attractions, with speculations rife about Messi\u2019s limited involvement and whether it was a strategic decision by his club. Fans expressed frustration, labeling Messi\u2019s cameo as a lack of respect towards supporters.
Comparisons arose, with one Al-Hilal supporter contrasting their team\u2019s 4-3 victory over Inter Miami\u2019s debut in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr\u2019s triumph against what was perceived as a weakened opponent.
A sentiment of betrayal resonated among fans who felt misled by the pre-match hype, with one disgruntled supporter describing it as a \u201cprank\u201d after investing time, money, and anticipation into what turned out to be a lackluster encounter devoid of its headline stars.
Tantalizingly dubbed \u201cThe Last Dance,\u201d the highly anticipated clash between Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s Al-Nassr and Lionel Messi\u2019s Inter Miami left many Saudi fans of the two great rivals \u2014 some whom paid up to $11,000 for tickets \u2014 underwhelmed despite a comprehensive 6-0 win for the Riyadh club.
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While local fans will no doubt have enjoyed the victory as their team prepare to get back into Roshn Saudi League action, there was an inescapable feeling of disappointment after Ronaldo missed the match through injury, while Messi only took part in the closing minutes after initial reports that he had been excluded from the Major League Soccer team\u2019s match-day squad.
Al-Nassr\u2019s goals came from a hat-trick by Anderson Talisca and strikes by Otavio, Aymeric Laporte and Mohammed Marran, as Ronaldo was caught on camera celebrating and smiling to himself in the stands.On social media, many fans voiced their displeasure at the absence of the two star attractions, some wondering if the Argentine World Cup winner was intentionally held back by his club.
\u201cWas Messi prevented from participating with his team except for three minutes? Question in good faith,\u201d one commenter on X speculated.
Another responded: \u201cMaybe he was told that as long as Ronaldo doesn\u2019t play, you won\u2019t have to play until the end.\u201d
One Al-Hilal supporter said Messi\u2019s absence showed a \u201clack of respect for the fans.\u201d Another Al-Hilal fan gloated that while his team had beaten a strong Inter Miami 4-3 in the American team\u2019s first outing in Saudi Arabia, Al-Nassr were left celebrating a win against \u201cthe reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An angry fan summed up the feeling of many with a post stating: \u201cFrankly, it\u2019s a prank to announce with posters that Messi and Ronaldo will be playing, but in the end, after reservations, expenses, and vacation time, we get a second-tier match with teams without stars.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Star-Studded Showdown Turns Damp Squib: Ronaldo-Messi Face-Off Fizzles in RiyadhTouted as \u201cThe Last Dance,\u201d the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1048"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1051,"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1048\/revisions\/1051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestatemonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}