Officials confirmed on Monday that Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as the captain of the Riyadh ST XI that will play in an exhibition match against Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain in Riyadh on Thursday. The team will consist of players from the Saudi Pro League teams of Al-Nassr and Al Hilal.
According to reports, Ronaldo will play 45 minutes as he looks to get some game time under his belt ahead of his Al-Nassr debut on Sunday. The Portuguese forward missed the first two games since signing for the club due to serving a two-game ban handed to him by the English Football Association.
Highly anticipated due to being the potential final showdown between Messi and Ronaldo, more than two million online ticket requests have been submitted for the game. Bidding for a VIP “Beyond Imagination” ticket for the game has already gotten underway with over $2.66 million worth of bids being submitted in an auction set to end on Tuesday.
Following the PSG exhibition game, Ronaldo is expected to make his Al-Nassr debut in Sunday’s Saudi Pro League game against Al Ettifaq.
