A Saudi businessman has won an auction to buy a golden ticket to watch Cristiano Ronaldo compete with Lionel Messi, in return for paying SAR 10 million ($2.6 million).
Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said that businessman Musharraf Al-Ghamdi, General Manager of Aqar 1 Real Estate Group, is the winner of a “beyond imagination” ticket to attend a friendly match that brings together French Paris Saint-Germain with the stars of Al-Nasr Club and Al-Hilal Saudi Club. In the “Riyadh Season Cup”.
According to a video clip posted on the account of the head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority on Twitter, the winner of the ticket will attend the opening ceremony and watch the match next to him and will have the opportunity to meet Ronaldo and Messi, in addition to the stars of the Parisian club, the Brazilian Neymar da Silva and the French Kylian Mbappe.
Al-Ghamdi, the winner of the auction, will also attend lunch and will be able to enter the dressing rooms of the two teams, in addition to participating in the coronation ceremony, and joining a group photo with the winning team.
Turki Al-Sheikh said that the money paid by the winner of the auction would be given to the Saudi Ihsan Charitable Association. Ihsan says on its website that it is working to promote “the leading role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in development and charitable work.”
The January 19 match in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, will be the first time that Ronaldo and Messi have faced off, since Juventus, Italy’s victory over Barcelona, Spain, 0/3, in the Champions League competition in December 2020.
Cristiano Ronaldo joined the Al-Nasr club after the World Cup in Qatar, while Lionel Messi has been an ambassador for Saudi tourism since May 2022.
