and will miss out on a final showdown with both players ruled out of tonight’s friendly between Al-Nassr and Inter Miami.
Ronaldo and Messi, after countless battles at the top of European football,
The former , and Juventus star has been recovering from a calf injury that led to Al-Nassr cancelling two friendlies in China last week, much to the anger of fans in Shenzhen.
Ronaldo, 38, has not recovered from his injury in time with final confirmation of his absence coming hours before kick-off, not named in the matchday squad.
Messi was expected to be involved but the Barcelona and Argentina legend is also absent from the Inter Miami squad. Reports suggest the 36-year-old is struggling with an injury of his own.
Sadio Mane is also not involved for Al-Nassr following Senegal’s heartbreaking Africa Cup of Nations elimination on penalties against Ivory Coast on Monday.
There are two familiar names in the Al-Nassr XI including former Manchester City star . He is also joined by former Manchester United full-back Alex Telles.
While without Messi, three other Barcelona legends in Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets start tonight for the MLS side.
The Al-Nassr manager revealed earlier this week that Ronaldo was set to miss out this evening.
‘We will not see [Messi vs Ronaldo],’ said Al-Nassr’s manager Luis Castro.
‘Ronaldo is in the final part of his recovery to join the group. We hope that in the next few days you can start working with the team. He will be absent from the game.’
Messi and Ronaldo faced each other 35 times over the course of their decade-long rivalry, with the Argentine winning 16 times.
