"Thankful for the blessings" - Cristiano Ronaldo makes social media post ahead of Al-Nassr's friendly against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami
Cristiano Ronaldo has taken to Instagram ahead of what could be his last encounter with longtime rival Lionel Messi tomorrow (January 31).
Ronaldo will captain Al-Nassr when they clash with Messi's Inter Miami in a friendly at Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia. The game has been dubbed as 'The Last Dance' with two of football's greatest ever players going toe to toe.
Al-Alami's skipper certainly looks match-fit and ready for his side's collision with the MLS side. He posted a snap of himself on his Instagram account with the caption:
"Thankful for the blessings."
Cristiano Ronaldo, 38, has been in scintillating form for Al-Nassr this season, bagging 24 goals and 11 assists in 25 games across competitions. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has been instrumental as Luis Castro's side have mounted a title challenge.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi, 36, has been wowing fans in America after heading to DRV PNK in the summer. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has posted 11 goals and five assists in 14 games for the Herons, captaining them to the Leagues Cup last August.
Inter Miami kickstarted their Riyadh Season Cup campaign with a 4-3 loss to Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal yesterday (January 29). Messi was on the scoresheet while new arrival Luis Suarez also netted.
Cristiano Ronaldo's glowing verdict of his rivalry with Lionel Messi
The height of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's rivalry came when both were playing in La Liga with Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Portuguese icon left Los Blancos in 2018, leaving a lasting legacy at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ronaldo scored 450 goals and provided 131 assists in 438 games with Madrid. He is the La Liga giants' top goalscorer.
The Portugal captain's departure brought an end to the consistent battles between himself and Messi in Spain. He touched on this back in 2020 in an interview with RMC Sport (via Geo News):
"I truly respect Messi's career to date. He has already said that he had trouble when I left the Spanish league because it is a rivalry that he appreciates."
Ronaldo won 16 major trophies with Madrid and became the first player in history to win five UEFA Champions League trophies. He was constantly at war with Messi in the battle to be the world's best.
The Al-Nassr superstar compared his rivalry to those forged in other sports:
"It is a good rivalry that exists in football, but this is no exception. Michael Jordan had rivals in basketball, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were great rivals in Formula One."
Lionel Messi brought an end to his illustrious Barca spell in 2021 when he left as a free agent. He became the Blaugrana's all-time record goalscorer with 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 games, winning 34 major trophies.