Saudi businessman bids millions to get Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi tickets

ASaudi real estate mogul won a ticket to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi face off in a friendly after bidding 26 million at auction, an official said Tuesday

The match on Thursday in Riyadh is set to pit Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain against a select side made up of players from Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr and their Saudi rivals Al Hilal

It will mark the first time Ronaldo has played any football in the kingdom since signing a contract with Al Nassr that runs until 2025 and is worth more than 200 million euros 214 million, according to sources close to the club

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is scheduled to make his Saudi Pro League debut for Al Nassr on Sunday

To promote Thursday’s friendly, Turki al-Sheikh, an advisor at the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced a charity auction for a special ticket that would come with perks like photo opportunities with players and access to the locker rooms

Bidding started at 1 million Saudi riyals 266,000 and the auction closed at 1130 pm local time on Tuesday Sheikh then announced on Twitter the winning bid of 10 million riyals 26 million had come from Mushref al-Ghamdi Congratulations, you deserve it, and may God reward you with good, Sheikh said The proceeds from the auction are due to go to the national charity campaign known as Ehsan Besides Messi, PSG stars expected to play on Thursday include France striker Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi, who last year in Qatar helped make Morocco the first Arab and African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals

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