Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr thrashed Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 6-0 in a game that included a goal from the halfway line.
The two sides took each other on in a friendly match in the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia, in what had looked set to be another encounter between two of the greatest players of all time and had been billed as potentially the final meeting between the pair.
But it was an anticlimactic event, with Ronaldo sidelined due to injury and Messi only coming off the bench with seven minutes to go.
Ronaldo was watching from the stands alongside UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, but the Portuguese striker was out of his seat though when he watched Aymeric Laporte score an outrageous goal from 15 yards inside his own half.
The former Man City defender caught out Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender with a free kick when he spotted him off his line.
This made the score 3-0 to Al Nassr after just 12 minutes, and things didn’t get better for Messi’s team as they slumped to a 6-0 defeat.
Al Nassr had gone ahead after just three minutes through Otavio, with Anderson Talisca then adding a second from close range three minutes later.
Whilst Messi spent most of the game on the bench, Inter Miami did have the services of Luis Suarez to call upon, however he was largely ineffective for the game, with his only moment being a first-half volley.
Al Nassr were missing Sadio Mane along with Ronaldo but that didn’t stop them scoring three more in the second half and completing Inter Miami’s humiliation.
When Messi was eventually subbed on, Saudi government member Turki Sheikh couldn’t resist taunting him over the score.
The friendly was part of the MLS side’s preseason tour of Asia, which continues with games in Hong Kong on Sunday and Japan three days later.
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