Ronaldo’s social media statement came after the old rivals went head to head in a friendly
Cristiano Ronaldo posted a photograph of himself embracing Lionel Messi with a message to “old friends” after facing the Argentine in a friendly.
Paris Saint-Germain’s clash with Saudi Arabia All-Stars, made up of Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal players, was billed as potentially the last time the duo would face off on a football pitch.
It was Messi who came out on top with a 5-4 win for PSG in an end-to-end, entertaining game.
But Ronaldo outscored his former Ballon d’Or nemesis, hitting two late first-half goals after Messi opening the scoring in the third minute.
After the game, the 37-year-old tweeted: “So happy to be back on the pitch, and on the score sheet!! And nice to see some old friends!”
The friendly counted as Ronaldo’s debut in Saudi football since signing for Al-Nassr before having to serve a two-game ban from his time at Manchester United, as well as his first outing after the World Cup.
It was not all plane sailing for him however as his first goal came following a penalty being awarded for a crunching blow from Keylor Navas.
The pair both missed a high ball and Ronaldo looked in pain before scoring from the spot, his hefty facial bruise attracting the attention of Kylian Mbappe.
Both Messi and Ronaldo, as well as Mbappe and Neymar, were taken off after an hour ahead of their games on the weekend, the Al-Nassr star aiming for his competitive debut against Ettifaq.
[READ NEXT] Kylian Mbappe caught ‘checking Cristiano Ronaldo is human’ in Al-Nassr star’s debut
Shared in a video to Twitter, Mbappe can be seen sharing some friendly banter with Ronaldo, who was pointing to an enormous bruise he had sustained on his cheek.
Mbappe then went over and examined the bruise before continuing to joke with Ronaldo.
Is it just us or did that seem like a bit of a fanboy moment of the part of Mbappe?
Fans have been lapping up the incident on Twitter involving two of their most loved stars.
User @UzairRizvi tweeted: “Mbappe just checking to see if Ronaldo is human or not.”
Whilst another chimed in: “Mini GOAT checking up on his rival. You love to see it.”
SOURCE: standard.co.uk, givemesport.com
