The anticipation of the return of the Messi – Ronaldo rivalry on the pitch was immense, but 24 hours before the reunion, Al Nassr coach Luis Castro announced the unavailability of his captain. “He is in the final part of his recovery before rejoining the group. […] He will be absent from the match. the coach told Globo.
As a reminder, the two teams were to play each other as part of the Riyadh Season, a friendly preparation competition before the return of MLS and the Saudi championship. These exhibition matches have already started, and Léo Messi and his teammates lost 4-3 against Al Hilal this Monday 29. In the middle of a break, Al-Nassr had also planned a preparation tour in China during the month of January . Already injured for several weeks, the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo had pushed the Saudi club to cancel two matches.