Al-Nassr star does Cristiano Ronaldo's goal celebration after scoring hat-trick against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami, video goes viral
The video of Anderson Talisca copying Cristiano Ronaldo's goal celebration after completing his hat-trick against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami has gone viral on social media.
The Brazilian forward played a starring role as the SPL side demolished the MLS club in their recent Riyadh Season Cup showdown.
Ronaldo wasn't in Al-Alami's squad as the 38-year-old is still recovering from his calf injury. Messi was also absent from his team's first XI. Miami Herald's Michelle Kaufman reported that the 2023 Ballon d'Or winner felt discomfort during the 3-4 defeat against Al-Hilal and underwent an MRI.
Talisca took center stage in the superstar attackers' absences, scoring a stunning hat-trick (10', 51' P, 73'). After his third goal, he performed Cristiano Ronaldo's famous "siiuuu" celebration.
Watch the clip below:
Otavio (3'), Aymeric Laporte (12'), and Mohammed Maran (68') were the other scorers for the Knights of Najd. Laporte's goal was the pick of the bunch as the Spain international scored a free kick from inside his own half.
Lionel Messi came on as an 83rd-minute substitute. However, the game's fate had been decided long before that.
Turki Al-Sheikh's theory about why Lionel Messi missed showdown against Ronaldo-less Al-Nassr
Fans were disappointed about having missed out on witnessing another battle between the GOATs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. While Al-Nassr head coach Luis Castro informed about Ronaldo's absence ahead of the game, Messi's exclusion from the Inter Miami line-up came as a surprise.
Saudi Arabia's Chairman of General Authority of Entertainment Turki Al-Sheikh claimed that the Argentine World Cup winner wanted to avoid the embarrassment of facing defeat against a Ronaldo-less Al-Nassr. He said (via CristianoXtra on X):
“I received news about Messi Mob player. He saw that Cristiano was absent and was afraid that he would lose against Al Nassr without Ronaldo and he would stumble and walk away and said, ‘Let me go.’”
Despite the banter, whether fans will ever see Ronaldo and Messi clash on the pitch ever again remains doubtful. Their remarkable seems to be approaching its end, with Ronaldo turning 39 on February 5 and Messi turning 37 in June.