By: Luis Imana
A month after he accomplished the feat and became world champion with the Argentine team, Lionel Messi This Wednesday he returned to Doha, the city that enabled him to fulfill one of the biggest dreams of his football career.
Last December, the Gaucho team managed to win the world title after 36 long years, after beating France in the final in a tough game that ended 3-3 after extra time and had to be decided on penalties.
“One of the most beautiful months in the world and I still can’t believe it. What a beautiful madness we lived all this time that we ended up winning the trophy we all wanted so badly,” wrote the Argentine star on his Instagram account.
However, the reason for his return is not related to the Albiceleste but to the club he is currently defending Paris St Germain. After arriving in Qatar, where he trained in front of more than 30,000 fans at the Khalifa International Stadium, Messi and his entourage traveled to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to star in one of the most anticipated matches of the year.
The ‘Flea’ will look to add another win to his surprising professional record when the French team take on the Riyadh season today (12:00 CET), a side made up of the best players from Al-Hilal and Al -Nassr composed.
Although Messi will have the support of Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr in his squad, the main attraction will be the duel ‘Lio’ will have with his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has just become an Al-Nassr player for a giant Contract worthy of his career.
Lionel Messi returned to Qatar after his World Cup win over France. Photo: EFE
All lovers of the “beautiful sport” will follow these 90 minutes, which mean the reunion of the two stars after more than two years. The last time the ‘Flea’ and ‘CR7’ saw each other was in December 2020 when Barcelona and Juventus met in the group stage of the Champions League.
In that game, which took place at the Camp Nou, the Bianconeros beat the Catalans 3-0 with two goals from the Portuguese attacker from 12 paces.
So far, Messi and Ronaldo have met 36 times (34 at club level and 2 with their national teams), of which the gaucho has won 16 matches while the Portuguese have drawn 11 and 9.
Likewise, Peru will be involved in the long-awaited clash between PSG and Riyadh Season as André Carrillo has been called up to the hosts’ team and has a strong starting point as one of Al-Hilal’s figures.
In addition, the “CR7” and “Culebra” team will be managed by Marcelo Gallardo, one of the greatest coaches River Plate has had in history.
Did you know…
they want it. Al-Hilal are trying to add Lionel Messi to the squad and are preparing a juicy financial proposal.
Captain. Cristiano Ronaldo will wear the ribbon in the Saudi stars’ set for the game against PSG.