Ronaldo Leads Attack for Riyadh All Stars As Messi, Mbappe, Neymar Start for PSG

• Cristiano Ronaldo will lead the attack for Riyadh All-Stars when they face PSG in a friendly
• Lionel Messi and his Ligue 1 giants are already in Saudi Arabia for the star-studded fixture
• The game is sponsored as part of activities marking the festival known as Riyadh Seasons

Multiple Ballon d’Or winners, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will face off again as Paris Saint-Germain takes on Riyadh All-Stars in Saudi Arabia.

The Parisians are already in the Middle Eastern nation's capital for the much-anticipated friendly match.

Sporting News reports that the encounter is sponsored as part of activities marking the Saudi festival also known as Riyadh Seasons.

The match was initially scheduled to take place in January last year, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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It was further pushed up due to the congestion of club football, as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Coincidentally, the match is taking place barely weeks after Ronaldo joined Saudi Professional League side, Al-Nassr.

The ousted Manchester United striker is yet to make his debut for his new club due to a suspension that carried over from his Premier League time, but he will captain the Riyadh All-Stars side.

The match is little more than a showcase event between two star-studded squads featuring two iconic players, but the two teams will hope that a good performance can springboard them further into the season's competitive matches.

Confirmed lineups:

PSG (3-4-3): Navas (GK) — Bitshiabu, Marquinhos, Ramos — Bernat, Sanches, Soler, Hakimi — Neymar, Messi, Mbappe.

Riyadh (4-3-3): Al-Owais (GK) — Abdulhamid, Al Bulayhi, Soo Jang, Al Ghanam — Kanno, Gustavo, Pereira — P. Martinez, Ronaldo, Talisca.

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A look at Ronaldo’s debuts

Sports Brief earlier reported that Ronaldo is set to debut for Al-Nassr, in Thursday's friendly against Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain.

The veteran's much-heralded 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 will mark the first time Ronaldo and Messi will face off, since the group stages of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League - when they represented Juventus and Barcelona respectively.