Follow live: Ronaldo v Messi as PSG play Saudi all-stars
Cristiano Ronaldo is all set to make his maiden appearance in Saudi Arabia on Thursday after his record deal with Al Nassr, and it is going to be a memorable one.
The Portuguese star has had to wait for his first outing in the kingdom as he was serving a two-match domestic ban imposed by the English FA for knocking a phone out of a fan's hand when he played for Manchester United against Everton last April.
Ronaldo, who turns 38 next month, agreed to a contract with Al Nassr that runs until 2025 and is reportedly worth more than $200 million.
And now, after a long wait, Ronaldo will finally take to the field. The star forward will feature in the “Riyadh Season Cup” exhibition game on Thursday as part of an all-star team comprising players from Ronaldo's new club Al Nassr and city rivals Al Hilal. Facing this combined team will be a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side that will also have Ronaldo's long-time rival Lionel Messi.
Apart from Messi, PSG's line-up is also expected to include France star Kylian Mbappe and Brazil great Neymar.
The Saudi select team includes Salem Al Dawsari, who scored the winning goal in the Green Falcons' shock win over eventual champions Argentina in the World Cup's group stage.
Fixture
Riyadh Season Cup, Riyadh All-Star XI v PSG at King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh
When is the match?
Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 9pm UAE time (8pm Makkah)
How to watch Ronaldo v Messi in the UAE?
The match will be shown on beIN Sports across the Mena region. Live coverage begins on the beIN Sports free-to-air channel and beIN Sports 2 in Arabic from 8pm UAE time, while English coverage starts at 8.30pm on beIN Sports English 1.
Tickets
Demand for tickets for the match is extremely high. According to Reuters, the game has already received more than two million online ticket requests.
To top it all, a Saudi real estate businessman won a special VIP ticket to see the friendly after bidding $2.6 million at auction.
Turki Al Sheikh, an adviser at the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, had earlier announced the auction for a VIP ticket, named "Beyond Imagination".
The ticket provides a number of unique benefits, including photo opportunities with players and access to the respective dressing rooms. Al Sheikh then announced on Twitter that real-estate entrepreneur Mushref Al Ghamdi had put in a winning bid of 10 million riyals ($2.6 million) for the special ticket.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the national charity campaign "Ehsan".
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Company%C2%A0profile
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