Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could be reunited in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal reportedly ‘willing’ to hand the Paris Saint-Germain forward a monstrous contract.
The Argentine and Portuguese are undoubtedly the two best players of this generation, with the debate about who is superior unlikely to ever go away.
Messi’s World Cup win as Argentina captain in 2022 has certainly helped his case to be the undisputed greatest of all time, with Ronaldo’s recent demise only benefitting the Barcelona legend.
After nine years of Ronaldo and Messi locking horns with Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga, both have gone their separate ways.
After a spell with Juventus and then a return to Manchester United, Ronaldo finds himself playing for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
The 37-year-old left United in November after he was essentially sacked by mutual consent and after failing to find another club in Europe, has relocated to the middle east.
There is a chance he may be joined by Messi in Saudi Arabia with the epic rivalry potentially being reignited.
The PSG superstar is an ambassador for the country and a move there could put another dent in Ronaldo’s ego.
Signing the biggest contract in football history, Ronaldo is definitely the main man in the middle east.
However, there are now reports coming out of Spain stating that Al Nassr’s rivals Al Hilal are keen on bringing Messi to Saudi Arabia when his PSG contract runs out at the end of 2022-23.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Al Hilal could offer Messi a deal worth $350million per year, absolutely blowing Ronaldo’s £200m deal out of the water.
Saudi Arabian football has the potential to grow and grow, and the money is there to make that happen, and having Messi and Ronaldo in their league – even at their respective ages – would be absolutely huge. I mean, it doesn’t really get any better or bigger than that.
Like the signing of Ronaldo, it is said that there are hopes Messi’s arrival would strongly boost Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2030 World Cup with Greece and Egypt.
Al Hilal will try to ‘tempt’ the Argentina captain with a ‘succulent offer’, with rumours of a move ‘growing’.
$350m is probably the most the club could put on the table, with the report stating they are ‘willing’ to offer ‘no less than’ $300m (£246.7m).
This would be ‘difficult’ to reject, but it remains to be seen if Messi is willing to leave Europe.
It is noted that Al Hilal and Al Nassr have the biggest rivalry in Saudi Arabia and it is ‘considered El Clasico’ there and there is a desire to have Messi come over and ‘generate a rivalry around the world’.
The Saudi Arabian football federation is clearly very eager to make this happen and will even fund some of the deal, the report adds.
Rather ambitiously, Al Hilal want to sign Messi in January in the hope he can play for them in February’s Club World Cup.
Despite the fact he literally completed football by winning the World Cup last year, it is hard to imagine Messi leaving PSG halfway through the season when his contract expires in six months’ time.
A January switch also adds a transfer fee into the equation, and money is clearly not a problem for the Parisiens, so you cannot imagine a single bid being tempting enough to accept.
Ego-maniac Ronaldo will not be a happy bunny should Messi move to Saudi Arabia…
