Lionel Messi Out Injured for Inter Miami vs. Al-Nassr; Cristiano Ronaldo Also Out

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Inter Miami star Lionel Messi will not play in Thursday’s friendly match against Al-Nassr in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to ESPN FC, Messi was not included in the team sheet for the match, which was originally being billed as “The Last Dance” due to the fact that it could have been the final time Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo faced each other.

Messi’s absence from the lineup comes after Al-Nassr head coach Luís Castro announced Wednesday that Ronaldo would miss the match since he had yet to full recover from an injury, per Kyle Bonn of Sporting News.

Messi is dealing with a hamstring injury, while Ronaldo is working his way back from a calf ailment.

ESPN’s Chris Wright noted that Messi and Ronaldo have played 36 competitive matches against each other during their illustrious careers. Messi has the upper hand with 16 wins, 11 losses and nine draws.

Their most recent competitive meeting was in the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League group stage, which saw Ronaldo score twice in a 3-0 win for Juventus over Barcelona.

More recently, Messi and Ronaldo faced off in a friendly in January 2023 between Paris Saint-Germain and the Saudi Pro League XI. Ronaldo scored twice and Messi scored once, as the Saudi side won 5-4.

Both Messi and Ronaldo are reaching the twilight of their careers, as Messi is 36, while Ronaldo will turn 39 on Monday.

Even if neither of them were to play another match, they will always be considered two of the greatest soccer players of all time.

Messi is second all time with 821 goals across all competitions, plus he is a four-time UEFA Champions League winner with Barcelona and a one-time FIFA World Cup and one-time Copa América winner with Argentina, as well as an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, two-time FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner and one-time FIFA World Cup Silver Boot winner.

Ronaldo is soccer’s all-time leading goal scorer with 873 goals, plus he won the UEFA Champions League four times with Real Madrid and once with Manchester United, and he won the UEFA European Championship with Portugal in 2016. Ronaldo is also a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and he won the UEFA European Championship Golden Boot in 2020.

Messi and Ronaldo spent most of their careers with top-tier European clubs and faced each other in many big matches, but that may no longer be the case with Messi in the United States and Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.

Unless another friendly is scheduled in the future, it is possible Messi and Ronaldo have played against each other for the final time.