How Businessman Splashes $2.6m On Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi Ticket

A Saudi businessman spent $2.6 million for a ticket to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi play in a charity match.

There is growing anticipation for Paris Saint-friendly Germain’s match against a Saudi All-Star XI captained by Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday in Riyadh.

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The Portuguese talisman will make his Saudi Arabian debut in this game after joining Al-Nassr on a whopping salary.

Turki al-Sheikh, an adviser to the Royal Court and the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, set up a unique ticket for sale that would come with benefits like meeting players and access to the locker rooms in order to promote the friendly.

Al-Sheikh revealed on Twitter that Mushref al-winning Ghamdi’s bid of 10 million riyals ($2.6 million) was made at the conclusion of the auction.

“Congratulations, you deserve it, and may God reward you with good,” Sheikh said.

The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the national charity campaign known as Ehsan.

According to L’Equipe, Paris Saint-Germain will receive €10 million from the friendly, which had over 2 million online ticket requests. This is unquestionably a momentous occasion because Ronaldo will meet Messi for the first time since Juventus‘ 3-0 Champions League victory over Barcelona in December 2020, when the 37-year-old was on the winning team.

On Thursday, the friendly is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. GMT/12 p.m. ET at the King Fahd International Stadium.