Cristiano Ronaldo recovered from a blow to the face to score twice against Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday in a raucous reunion with arch-rival Lionel Messi that showed the financial might of the resource-rich Gulf.
also read: Guardiola blasts Man City despite Spurs comeback
Ronaldo, 37, was hit by a fist from PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas, but he drilled a penalty and then added another in the 5-4 exhibition defeat, his first appearance since moving to Saudi Arabia in a deal worth more than 400 million. euros.
For Qatari-owned PSG, Messi and Kylian Mbappe both scored and Neymar missed a penalty before withdrawing on the hour mark along with Ronaldo, who represented the Saudi joint team, leaving the world’s four best-paid players watching from the bench. Riyadh.
Hundreds of millions of euros of football players were on display for the exhibition game in the Saudi capital, which came just a week after neighboring Qatar spent extravagantly in the first World Cup in Arab land, won by Argentina’s Messi.
Among the crowd at the 69,000-seat King Fahd Stadium was a Saudi real estate mogul who paid $2.6 million at an auction for tickets that gave players access to the dressing room.
After Ronaldo led the Riyadh Season team, drawn from his new club Al Nassr and Saudi rivals Al Hilal, to flame throwers and tickertape, Messi opened the scoring after just three minutes when he fed Mbappe.
– Flush the cheekbones –
Ronaldo’s first touch of Saudi football was a throw, but his shot was saved and a penalty appeal was waved away before Navas was caught on the cheek when challenging a high ball.
Ronaldo, still wiping red marks from his face and grimacing, fired past Navas to make it 1-1 in the 34th minute.
Five minutes later, PSG’s Juan Bernat was shown a straight red card for a foul on Salem Al-Dawsari – Saudi Arabia’s match-winner in their famous World Cup group stage victory over Argentina.
Messi, perhaps irritated by the intensity of the mid-season friendly, aimed to see Ronaldo, his sparring partner while playing for Barcelona and Real Madrid.
PSG were soon back in front thanks to Marquinhos’ delicate finish before Neymar missed the spot-kick, taking it tamely after his trademark stutter.
Minutes later, Ronaldo scored his second equalizer in first-half injury time, hitting the post and then burying the rebound to make it 2-2 at half-time.
Mbappe put PSG back in front shortly after the break, turning his marker to the outside and setting up an easy finish for Sergio Ramos, before Hyun-soo Jang found a third equalizer for the hosts.
But Mbappe saved a penalty and Hugo Ekitike scored to make it 5-3 before Brazilian striker Talisca grabbed Riyadh’s fourth goal at the death.
It is the first outing in oil-rich Saudi for Ronaldo, who will make his Saudi Pro League debut for Al Nassr on Sunday after signing for more than 200 million euros, according to sources close to the club.
The veteran Portuguese star will be paid an additional 200 million euros, the source told AFP, to be an ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s 2030 World Cup co-hosting bid with Egypt and Greece.