Ronaldo absent, Messi late sub as Al Nassr thrash Inter Miami،
The expected showdown between football's two biggest rivals failed to materialize on Thursday, with Lionel Messi limited to a late substitute appearance and Cristiano Ronaldo watching from the stands as his Al Nassr side beat Inter Miami of Messi 6-0.
Ronaldo had been ruled out with a calf injury and Messi surprised Saudi fans by staying on the sidelines during the kick-off of Riyadh's Season Cup exhibition match.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
The Saudi Pro League club's head coach Luís Castro said on Wednesday that Ronaldo would not be able to take part in the match due to a calf injury, while reports indicate that Messi has been left out of the starting lineup as a precautionary measure.
There was confusion before kick-off over whether Messi would be included in Miami's squad after the MLS side posted a team sheet on X, formerly Twitter, with his name absent.
However, this post was deleted and a new team sheet including Messi on the bench was sharing. Riyadh fans had to wait until the 83rd minute to see Messi come into action, with Miami already losing 6-0.
Brazilian Anderson Talisca scored a hat-trick for Al Nassr, while former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte scored from inside his own half. Al Nassr's other goals came from Otavio and Mohammed Maran.
The match, staged at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was billed as the final club meeting of the two stars who dominated European football for a decade, including spells at Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Messi and Ronaldo have faced each other 36 times over the years in club and country matches, with Messi's teams winning 16, Ronaldo's teams winning 11 and the teams settling for draws on the other nine occasions. Messi has 22 goals and 11 assists in these matches; Ronaldo has 21 goals and one assist.
Ronaldo, who has won five Ballon d'Ors to Messi's eight, applauded from the stands as Al Nassr's goals rained in.
With the Saudi Pro League on a mid-season break, Al Nassr planned to play two matches in China against Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang before the match against Miami in Riyadh.
But Ronaldo issued a public apology on January 23 after his calf injury contributed to the postponement of Al Nassr's tour of the country.
Inter Miami, who lost 4-3 to Al Hilal on Monday, traveled to Saudi Arabia as part of their pre-season tour. They must face a Hong Kong eleven on February 4.
Associated Press reporting contributed to this report.
