[ODUNEWS] January 20 – The old boy eventually came to work on Thursday night, with a king’s ransom in his pocket and a pawn’s obligations on his feet. He was here in this most peculiar of locales, and so was the other guy—two guys trapped in a 14-year dance. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi—the order always mattered, and what a delight that dance has been!
They’ve competed in El Clasico and the Champions League and faced off in their countries’ colours, and they’ve accomplished so much together. Could one of them have succeeded without the other? Possibly. Would it have been that unique? There is no way. Ali needs the services of Frazier and Foreman. Palmer was required by Nicklaus. Evert was required by Navratilova, The Red Sox need the Yankees. Ronaldo needed Messi, Messi needed Ronaldo.
And there is pain in that, as well as wonder at how it has come to this for one of the world’s best footballers. Curiosity about modern sport, international politics, and the ego pushed Ronaldo away from one life as a serious player and into another as a billboard or washcloth, depending on how you look at these debates. So perhaps this is how the rivalry ends: on a pitch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where a squad of legends, led by LeBron James, competes.
Messi’s team had triumphed 5-4 at the end. Actually, it’s a very nice game. Messi scored first, and Ronaldo answered with two of his own, which he may have loved as much as the people did. This country truly adores football. That will be an important part of Ronaldo’s story going forward, just as it has been for Messi in his relationship with Qatar and his job as a tourist ambassador for Saudi Arabia, which no longer has a president.
Amnesty International expressed grave concerns over their reunion here, at the King Fahd Stadium, with one of their directors, Peter Frankental, noting, “This match is a reminder that Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing operations are going at full speed.” He went on to describe 81 killings in a single day last March, as well as punitive penalties meted out to those campaigning for women’s rights. That will now be Ronaldo’s backdrop, just as it has been for those in Formula One, boxing, LIV golf, and other fast-growing sports.
For a while, it looked like Messi would take over the show—scoring after three minutes was a brilliant piece of satire. But Ronaldo equalised with a penalty after getting hit in the face while battling a cross with Keylor Navas, a former Real Madrid teammate.
PSG were soon 2-1 up, although with 10 men, and after Neymar missed a penalty, Ronaldo converted his second and the stadium erupted. He tried his siuuu celebration, but his jump was grounded by a teammate; he will undoubtedly learn the protocol.
The score reached 5-3 after some meandering, the intricacies of which were always going to be incidental, and both Messi and Ronaldo were replaced after an hour. The room became hushed in amusement, especially when long-time enemies did not hug. There was not even a look. Perhaps it was an anticlimax. Perhaps, like a few other things, it was a little sad.
