"Messi is of course the best player in the world. His presence in the match will make the event and the match at the Riyadh Season Cup special," Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus shared at a press conference before the match against Inter Miami on January 28.
Messi is very comfortable during training sessions in Saudi Arabia
Yasser Al-Shahrani (left) once faced and continuously provoked Messi at the 2022 World Cup
"This is a big match. We are very excited to face the best player in the world. I have faced Messi before. But every match is different. The upcoming match between Al Hilal and Inter Miami, we will definitely have a more separate preparation," said Al Hilal player Yasser Al-Shahrani.
At the 2022 World Cup, Yasser Al-Shahrani confronted and repeatedly provoked Messi in the match where Saudi Arabia won 2-1 against Argentina in the opening match of the group stage. The 31-year-old defender was left out of the 26-man list of Saudi Arabia for the 2023 Asian Cup due to injury. He has just recovered and will return to play for Al Hilal against Inter Miami.
After the match with Al Hilal, Messi and his teammates will meet Ronaldo's Al Nassr club at 1am on February 2, also in the Riyadh Season Cup. Ronaldo is currently quite quiet. The Portuguese star's most recent message on his personal Facebook page is simply: "See you soon."
Ronaldo posted the latest message on his personal Facebook page
Ronaldo suffered a calf injury before the tour of China. The player later confirmed it at a press conference on January 23, causing the matches against Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang clubs on January 24 and January 28 to be canceled.
On January 27, Ronaldo and the Al Nassr players returned to Saudi Arabia to train in preparation for the match against Inter Miami. However, in recent days, Ronaldo has not been on the field with his teammates. Images on the X social network account (formerly Twitter) of Al Nassr only show Ronaldo arriving at the club's training area and continuing to treat his calf injury in the gym.
Whether Ronaldo will be ready to play in Messi's Al Nassr match against Inter Miami remains unclear. According to Arab Sports : "Ronaldo is determined to play. However, we will have to wait for his injury recovery in the near future. It is very likely that Ronaldo will return to training 1 or 2 days before the match, in order to be physically fit to play."
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