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GFX Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo 2023Getty/GOAL
Chris Burton

The Last Dance is happening! Date set for Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo as Inter Miami announce meetings with Al-Nassr & Al-Hilal as part of pre-season tournament in Saudi Arabia

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will get their ‘Last Dance’, with Inter Miami confirming a pre-season meeting with Al-Nassr in 2024.

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  • MLS side heading to the Middle East
  • Will line up against CR7 & Co
  • Eternal rivals locking horns once more

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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    The MLS outfit moved to quash speculation suggesting that such a meeting was being set up when rumours of such a date first emerged, but they have now announced that two eternal rivals will be locking horns for potentially the last time in their remarkable careers. Two men with 13 Ballons d’Or between them will face off in the Riyadh Cup – which forms part of Inter Miami’s first international tour.

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  • THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Inter Miami, who welcomed Messi onto their books in the summer of 2023 and savoured Leagues Cup glory within weeks of his arrival in the United States, are due to face Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on January 29, 2024. They will then take on Ronaldo and his Al-Nassr side at the same venue on February 1 – with their two opponents in a round-robin tournament also boasting the likes of Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte on their books.

  • WHAT INTER MIAMI SAID

    Xavier Asensi, Inter Miami’s chief business officer, has told the club’s official website: “This is another major opportunity to create lasting relationships with passionate fans. We are excited to connect with new supporters in Saudi Arabia, and also hope people all over the world will be tuning in to see a pair of dream matches like these.”

    Chief soccer officer and sporting director, Chris Henderson, added: “These matches will offer important tests for our team, which will benefit us as we approach the new season. We’re excited for our group to get the chance to go up against teams with as much quality as Al-Hilal and Al Nassr.”

  • Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo 2023Getty/GOAL

    WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI & RONALDO?

    Messi and Ronaldo have faced one another on 35 occasions – during their respective spells at Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid – with 2022 World Cup winner Messi emerging victorious on 16 occasions, compared to Ronaldo’s 10 successes. Argentine icon Messi has registered 21 goals and 12 assists in those fixtures, with Portuguese superstar Ronaldo finding the target on 20 occasions.