Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the most famous and successful soccer athletes in the history of the sport. Millions of fans adore the Portuguese legend and love to watch him play, both for the Portuguese national team and his current club, Al-Nassr, in the Saudi Pro League.
Lionel Messi has been a great rival of his over the years, and fans love to watch their regular clashes. But that had become a rare sight in recent years, and there was another chance to witness their last clash. But even this last matchup seems to be doomed.
Luis Castro provides update on Cristiano Ronaldo
Fans were overly excited when it was confirmed that Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will be participating in the Riyadh Season Cup this winter break. They were supposed to face two Saudi heavyweights, both Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr. The latter fixture meant that we would get to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi face each other on the pitch one last time.
But days before the matchup, Al-Nassr had to cancel their China tour due to Ronaldo being injured. The striker even apologized to the Chinese fans that wanted to see their hero live. He was injured in his left calf with a muscle issue. This had also put some fear that he could miss the game against Inter Miami. But there were positive updates from many sources, with the player participating in gym sessions.
We will not see Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi tomorrow, per Al-Nassr coach ❌🇵🇹
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) January 31, 2024
Luis Castro: "We will not see [Messi vs Ronaldo], Ronaldo is in the final part of his recovery to join the group. We hope that in the next few days you can start working with the team. He will… pic.twitter.com/5vypCx9ipZ
But manager Luis Castro has now confirmed the bad news that Ronaldo will indeed miss the hyped fixture against Inter Miami. The Portuguese manager said that Ronaldo was still injured, “We will not see Messi vs Ronaldo. Ronaldo is in the final part of his recovery to join the group. We hope that in the next few days you can start working with the team. He will be absent from the game.”
While fans will be saddened that they will not be able to witness another clash between the two soccer titans, Ronaldo has done the right decision to stay put. He is much needed in the Saudi Pro League and AFC Champions League for Al-Nassr in the coming months, and an injury would have ruined that.
Al Nassr vs Inter Miami: Date, Time, Venue and more
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have already faced Al Hilal, losing 4-3 despite goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. They will now look to win against Al-Nassr to keep their hopes up for the upcoming MLS season.
What are your predictions for Al Nassr vs Inter Miami? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/c3yBCRfaw0
— CR7️⃣ Fan Club (@flemingracool) January 31, 2024
While Al-Nassr will miss their captain, Inter Miami will have all their players available. They will have Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba possibly to start. Meanwhile, Al Nassr will also miss Sadio Mane due to AFCON 2023.
The highly-anticipated fixture will take place on February 2 at 9.00 PM local time. It will take place at the Kingdom Arena with an expected 40,000 people attending the game. With or without Cristiano Ronaldo, the fixture is still expected to be a great one, and who knows maybe the Portuguese could be watching from the sidelines.
