Saudi Businessman Pays $2.6 million To Take Pictures With Ronaldo, Messi

Saudi real estate mogul, Mushref al-Ghamdi, has won the special ticket that will enable him to take pictures with footballers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, after a friendly on Thursday, 19 January 2023.

Prime Business Africa had reported that Cristiano and Messi would face each other in a friendly match involving Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Saudi clubs, Al Nassr and Al Hilal. 

Ronaldo will lead a select team drawn from Al Nassr and Al Hilal, while Messi will feature for his French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain.

Both Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Messi, a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, haven’t played against each other since the Portuguese captain left Spanish giant, Real Madrid, in 2018. 

An adviser at the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki al-Sheikh, had initiated the special ticket to boost awareness for the match between Ronaldo and Messi on Thursday. 

The special ticket was presented at an auction at a reserve price of 1 million Saudi riyals ($266,000), but intense bidding rounds took the value up to 10 million riyals ($2.6 million). 

It was eventually sold to al-Ghamdi for $2.6 million. The special ticket will give the Saudi real estate mogul photo opportunities with Ronaldo, Messi and other players after the match. 

Also, the special ticket will give al-Ghamdi access to the players’ locker, amongst other incentives, according to the organiser of the auction. 

Speaking after the auction, Sheikh said: “Congratulations, you deserve it, and may God reward you with good.” The $2.6 million will be donated to Saudi’s national charity campaign known as Ehsan 

Meanwhile, there are reports that Al Hilal has shown interest in buying Messi from Paris Saint-Germain to reignite the rivalry between him and Ronaldo at the Saudi football league.

Although PSG is not willing to sell the Argentine legend who recently led his country to a World Cup victory in Qatar.