Lionel Messi highlighted his affection for Cristiano Ronaldo by posting footage of them hugging on his Instagram story.
The rivals, who have dominated football’s individual accolades for more than a decade, are regarded as among the best players of all time. They shared the pitch for what could be the final time this week as PSG travelled to the Middle East for a friendly against a Saudi-based team.
Messi and Ronaldo’s drive to be the best has led to a healthy rivalry, that has always remained respectful. Messi made clear his feelings about the Portuguese star as they shared an embrace before kick-off, which the World Cup winner then put on social media.
The Argentina hero would finish the friendly on top, scoring as the French outfit won a highly-entertaining encounter 5-4. They played over half the match with ten men following Juan Bernat’s red card, but still got the job done. Messi opened the scoring after just three minutes.
Kylian Mbappe also got on the scoresheet whilst Ronaldo bagged a brace on what was his debut in Saudi Arabia. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has recently signed for Al-Nassr but his first game came as part of a unique XI. His first goal came from the spot before he added another in first-half stoppage time.
The forward, playing against several former team-mates as well as his great rivals, made his thoughts known on social media. He wrote: “So happy to be back on the pitch, and on the score sheet!! And nice to see some old friends!”
Ronaldo is expected to make his debut for his new club on Sunday against Ettifaq as Al-Nassr look to return to the top of the table. PSG meanwhile are in the midst of their season, but are by no means running away with things in Ligue 1. Their recent loss to Rennes allowed their rivals to close in.
PSG boss Christophe Galtier gave his assessment of their trip to Saudi: “We saw lots of goals in a magnificent stadium with an incredible atmosphere. This evening, we played in a lively stadium with lots of support. Before talking about football, I wanted to say that I enjoyed the way that they honoured the numerous stars that were on the pitch.
“In terms of the match, it’s a shame that it wasn’t played with 11 against 11, but the referee surely applied the rules. There were interesting things on show given that we scored goals. There are also things that we are going to need to improve, I am thinking particularly about set-pieces. It allows us to establish areas to work on. It had also been a long time since we had everyone out on the pitch. When everyone is available, there are real positives. At the same time, there will be things to work on.”
