GOATs united: Video of how Ronaldo greeted Messi before exhibition game emerges

The much-vaunted exhibition game between Paris Saint-Germain and a select side from Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr has dominated the headlines throughout the week.

The discussion has centred on perhaps the last match-up between Cristiano Ronaldo and his eternal nemesis Lionel Messi.

Despite the rivalry between the pair, both Messi and Ronaldo have nothing but respect for each other, which manifested just before the kick-off.

In a video making the rounds on social media, seen by Sports Brief, Ronaldo, who was playing on Saudi soil for the first time since joining Al-Nassr, approached Messi.

The pair, who boasts of a staggering 12 Ballon d'Or awards between them, engaged in a brief conversation just before kick-off.

Below is the video:

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Football

Messi draws first blood against Ronaldo's Riyadh XI

Thursday's exhibition game in Saudi Arabia was supposed to be Cristiano Ronaldo's big moment but he was upstaged by rival Lionel Messi.

Messi scored after less than three minutes to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 lead against a Riyadh XI comprising players from Al Nassr and Al-Hilal

Ronaldo's career debuts

Sports Brief earlier reported that Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make his first appearance for Al-Nassr in Thursday's friendly against Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain.

Ronaldo's much-heralded Al-Nassr debut was delayed due to a ban slapped on him by the English FA, with the friendly against PSG expected as his first on Saudi Arabian soil.

The friendly game between Riyadh XI and PSG will mark the first time Ronaldo and Messi will go up against each other since the group stages of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League - when they represented Juventus and Barcelona respectively.