Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo Score Goals In Thrilling Friendly In Saudi Arabia

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo battle for the ball during a friendly match between Paris Saint-Germain and Riyadh XI at the King Fahd International Stadium on January 19.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo put on a show on Thursday as they faced off against Riyadh's All-Star XI in Paris Saint-Germain's 5-4 victory.

The exhibition match took place in the Saudi capital and saw two superstars renew their legendary rivalry.

It was Messi who opened the scoring with a well-placed finish within three minutes before tying from the penalty spot after Ronaldo collided with PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Juan Bernat sent off Salem Al-Dawsari as the final man before defender Marquinhos delivered a superb cross from Kylian Mbappe to restore PSG's lead. Spectacular action ensued as Neymar saved a penalty before Ronaldo equalized, making it 2-2 when Ronaldo reacted fastest after his first header hit the post.

The 37-year-old will make his debut on Sunday when Al His Nasr hosts the Etifaq at his Park in Musour.

Despite being an exhibition game, the game was frenziedly paced.

There was no letting up in the second half as Sergio Ramos regained the lead for PSG before Jang Hyun-soo's header again equalized after a better job from Mbappe.

Mbappe entered the scorers' chart himself after converting another penalty before both Ronaldo and Messi were substituted at the hour mark.

Even without the two big names on the pitch, the game continued at an incredible pace, with youngster Hugo Ektiche quickly crushing a counter-attack before finally keeping PSG out of sight.

But Anderson Talisca's long-range shot was just a consolation.

The exhibition match was more than the organizers dreamed of as all the big stars took part in an exciting encounter.

"Our league players are delighted to have the opportunity to measure their talents against some of the best players in the world, including Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Achraf Hakimi and of course Lionel Messi," the statement said. 

The game was played in front of a packed out crowd inside the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“Backed via way of means of an exceedingly passionate crowd on the King Fahd International Stadium, the Saudi Pro League gamers honestly installed a overall performance to be pleased with that showcased the energy of Saudi Arabian football.”

However, the in shape has been criticized via way of means of Amnesty International, which says the sport become every other instance of sportswashing – a phenomenon wherein corrupt or autocratic regimes put money into game and sports activities activities to whitewash their worldwide reputation – from each Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which bankrolls PSG via the enterprise Qatar Sports Investments.

He added:

“Saudi Arabia's sizable use of game as an workout in smooth energy is well-known, however with Qatari-owned PSG acting in Riyadh we efficiently have sportswashing superpowers – Saudi Arabia and Qatar – flexing their muscles.

“Saudi Arabia and Qatar have each poured enormous quantities of cash into carrying ventures in a bid to rebrand themselves and transfer worldwide interest farfar from their human rights records – efforts that have been most effective partly successful.

“Footballers like Ronaldo and Messi have massive profiles and we might want to see them resisting getting used because the well-known faces of sportswashing, which includes via way of means of talking out approximately human rights problems in each Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”