While Cristiano Ronaldo shines in Saudi Arabia with goals, Lionel Messi is being turned away by PSG fans himself for his performance that did not meet expectations.
Last match, Al Nassr won 5-0 against Al Adalh in round 22 of the Saudi Pro League. In particular, Ronaldo played impressively with a brace in the 40th and 66th minutes. This is CR7’s 10th and 11th goal in Saudi Arabia, an achievement that helped him join the Saudi Pro League top scorer race.
Al Nassr fans hail Ronaldo, seeing him as the club’s new hero. This is the opposite of Messi. The Argentine superstar gradually became a thorn in the eyes of PSG fans because of his high income, but his contribution was not commensurate.
Opposite position
Ronaldo is enjoying happy days. Before scoring twice against Al Adalh, CR7 scored 4 goals in 2 matches against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg in the EURO 2024 qualifier. After the year of 2022 feeling like “losing everything”, the 38-year-old superstar gradually improved his performance, and find the joy of playing again when continuously scoring goals for the club and the national team.
Both Al Nassr and the Portugal team benefit from Ronaldo’s goals. Al Nassr maintained a chase with the top team Al Ittihad when the distance between the two was only 1 point. With Portugal, coach Roberto Martinez’s teachers and students lead Group J of EURO 2024 qualifying with 6 points.
Ronaldo feels he is finding inspiration again. After painful tears at the 2022 World Cup, after the criticism received when talking about the old team MU, the smile returned to CR7’s lips.
Contrasting Ronaldo’s excitement in Saudi Arabia is the heavy atmosphere at PSG, where Messi is being turned away by those who once praised him. The match against Lyon in the 29th round of Ligue 1 on April 3 was not the first time M10 was booed by PSG fans. After the match, Messi did not go with his teammates to greet PSG fans but went straight into the tunnel. This is considered a response of M10 after criticism.
French media believe that Messi’s time at PSG is nearing its end. After 2 years, this 35-year-old superstar went from hero to villain. The remuneration of 41 million euros per season (according to L’Equipe) became the main cause of M10’s criticism. The PSG fan association believes that Messi is not worthy of that level of income after what he has shown.
Things became so serious that many former French players had to defend Messi. Thierry Henry said: “It’s a shame to hear the boos in the stands from the PSG fans. They cannot criticize one of the players who can be said to be the best on the team with 13 goals and 13 assists. Create”.
After Henry, it was the turn of former international Emmanuel Petit said that: “The whistles for Messi are an ɪɴsᴜʟᴛ to football and if I can give Leo one piece of advice, he should leave this club.”.
Winning the World Cup 2022 is the pinnacle of Messi’s career, but with the Argentina shirt. In Paris, the M10 couldn’t work miracles.
Call from Saudi Arabia
Al Hilal is said to have sent an offer with an unprecedented salary in the history of football to convince Messi to play. This figure is about 400 million euros per year, 10 times higher than what M10 received at PSG. At that time, the 35-year-old superstar will become the highest-paid player in history. The current record belongs to Ronaldo at Al Nassr (200 million euros per year).
Al Hilal’s offer comes at a time when Messi is considering his next career destination. Barcelona is a potential destination, but does coach Xavi want to shake up a team that is gradually being shaped to welcome the legend back? Remember, with a great legacy at Camp Nou, the power and voice of the M10 are not inferior (or even able to overwhelm) Xavi. This can turn Messi into a “slow ʙᴏᴍʙ ” at Barca.
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Meanwhile, the ᴘʀᴏsᴘᴇᴄᴛ of Messi creating a new Super Classic match with Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia is an attractive scenario. This Middle Eastern country has the money and ambition to make blockbuster deals in an effort to promote its image and compete for the right to host the 2030 World Cup.
At the current level, Messi will not have difficulty if he goes to Saudi Arabia to play football. The decision depends on the M10. Will the Argentine star accept to leave the top football in Europe to follow the call of money in Saudi Arabia?
