Cristiano Ronaldo will not be playing in the Riyadh Season Cup 2024 club-friendly football match against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami. Al Nassr even cancelled the friendly tour and came back after Ronaldo was unable to play in front of his fans. Before the pre-match conference, Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro said, "We will not see [Messi vs Ronaldo], Ronaldo is in the final part of his recovery to join the group. We hope that in the next few days, you can start working with the team. He will be absent from the game." South Africa Football Team Does Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Sleep’ Celebration After Match Winning Goal Against Morocco in AFCON 2023, Video Goes Viral.

Ronaldo was even seen with a bandage around his calf while training with the whole squad of Al-Nassr. The confirmation by coach Luis Castro tells that there will be no Last Dance between Ronaldo and Messi. Inter Miami has lost the first match of Riyadh Season Cup 2024 against Al-Hilal which was a high-intensity match. Al-Hilal Wins Over Inter Miami in Riyadh Season Cup 2024 Despite Goals From Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

We can expect Ronaldo to return for official matches of Al-Nassr which are to be started on February 14 as the injury is not worse. Ronaldo went on to score 54 goals for the year 2023 for both Al-Nassr and Portugal. For a 38-year-old player, it was a great achievement to become the top scorer of the year. As of now, this will get a bit of a sideline as Ronaldo will miss the match against Inter Miami. A whole lot of people were looking forward to this face-off which was looking possible until now.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2024 11:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).