A few days ago, there was news that the friendly match between Al Nassr and Inter Miami was at risk of being postponed. All because of a thigh injury that superstar Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly suffered. If CR7 does not play, it means that the match with arch-rival Lionel Messi cannot take place. Fortunately, the Portuguese player has returned to training to be ready with Al Nassr to welcome Messi and his teammates.
There is a very interesting detail in this friendly match: According to statistics from the website Transfermarkt, the two players that Ronaldo has faced the most in his career up to now are the duo playing for Inter Miami Club. Specifically, CR7 had 38 encounters with midfielder Sergio Busquets and then 36 times competing with Messi. In this article, we will temporarily ignore the first person to focus on the classic confrontation between Ronaldo and Messi.
The first time Ronaldo and Messi competed against each other on the field was in the 2007/08 season. At that time, Messi was only 21 years old and was a rising young talent for Barca. Ronaldo was 23 years old and at that time had become very famous in MU’s shirt. The battle at Camp Nou in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals ended with a goalless draw. M10 did not make much impression and had to leave the field in the 62nd minute. Ronaldo was even worse when his penalty shot right at the beginning of the match was stopped by goalkeeper Victor Valdes. But in the second leg, CR7 and his teammates still surpassed Barca to advance straight to the final thanks to midfielder Paul Scholes’s only goal.
From that memorable season until now, Ronaldo and Messi have faced each other 34 more times, of which, they stood at opposite ends of the line in 30 El Clasico matches. The head-to-head performance between these two superstars is somewhat in favor of the Portuguese striker. Statistics show that, through 36 matches, Ronaldo won 16 times, drew 9, and lost to Messi’s team 11 times. In particular, the last time he faced his rival, Ronaldo scored a double goal from the penalty spot against Barca, to bring a 3-0 victory to Juventus in the Champions League group stage of the season. 2020/21 tournament.
Not only losing to Ronaldo in the final match, Messi’s scoring record is also inferior to his rival in 36 matches played. Specifically, the Portuguese striker has scored 61 goals for Messi’s team. While M10 only scored 46 goals. In the upcoming friendly match between Al Nassr and Inter Miami, Ronaldo is also considered more likely to “shoot”. CR7 is flourishing in Saudi Arabia with 38 goals for Al Nassr. And Messi started showing signs of declining performance from the end of last season, after trying his best to help Inter Miami win the 2023 Concacaf Leagues Cup.
But no matter what, the upcoming confrontation between Ronaldo and Messi is well worth the wait. How many times will football lovers around the planet get to see two legends of contemporary world football compete directly? They didn’t even know that the upcoming battle would be the last time they faced each other on the field.
