Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Al-Nassr has been the talk of the town since it materialized earlier this month. However, his facing Lionel Messi for possibly the one last time in an Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr all-star friendly match against PSG on January 19th is the hottest topic for the fans. Although this is not the first time, the Portuguese could be participating in an all-star match.
Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia after accepting the biggest contract in the history of the sport. His $214 million per year contract, which will last for two and a half years, has been speculated as his main motive to leave Europe. Although, Cristiano Ronaldo has clearly stated his reasons to join the Saudi giants. He has claimed that his work in Europe is done, and he has won everything there.
Cristiano Ronaldo will meet his arch-rival Lionel Messi sooner than he might have expected. He is set to be a part of the Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal combined squad, which will take on PSG in a friendly match. The Portuguese has completed a two-match FA-handed match and would be eligible for the match on January 19th. The soccer world is waiting eagerly to watch Ronaldo and Messi battle against each other, maybe for the one last time.
Did Cristiano Ronaldo win first-ever all-star match for Manchester United?
All-star matches are a tradition, generally followed in American sports. But, soccer occasionally has held such all-star matches before. As rare as these all-star matches are in the vicinity, the 37-year-old Portuguese will be playing for the second time in an all-star match.
In 2007, Manchester United hosted an all-star match. 2007 marked the Manchester club’s 50th year playing in European tournaments. It was also the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. UEFA and the European Union decided to have a soccer match on March 13th to honor the occasion. The goal was obviously raising money for the charity as an exhibition match and seeing the finest players of the continents playing in a team.
Old Trafford was full with its 74,343 capacity to watch an exciting Manchester United team taking on the European XI squad coached by Marcelo Lippi. The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovich, Andrea Pirlo, Robbie Fowler, Malouda, and Steven Gerrard were playing against Sir Alex Ferguson’s United team. The hosts made the European XI look like amateurs with their early two goals lead through Wayne Rooney and Wes Brown.
In the 35th minute of the match, however, the best moment of the match took place. Manchester United won a free kick from 30 yards out and Ronaldo was the favorite to take it on. The young Portuguese stepped up in his usual stance and put his knuckleball free-kick freezing the goalie Canizares on his spot. That goal was almost identical to his free-kick against Portsmouth.
The last time @Cristiano played an All Star Game was in 2007. Man Utd vs Europe XI. He did this 🐍: pic.twitter.com/XUwJSBuuzQ
— Rafa (@Twitugal) January 16, 2023
Wayne Rooney made the scoreline 4-1 in the second half and El-Hadji Diouf’s late brace wasn’t enough to save the day for the European XI. Manchester United won the match 4-3 and Ronaldo’s free-kick was the top moment of the match. He will appear for the second time in a friendly match and hopefully do something to remember for the future.
Discussion about this post