"Would like to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the same league again" - Saudi Chief comments

Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) General Secretary Ibrahim Alkassim has spoken on the prospect of Lionel Messi reuniting with his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro league.

The Argentine superstar is currently in the final months of his contract at French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and is yet to sign an extension.

Although the French club are very much determined to keep Lionel Messi beyond the 2022-23 season, there seems to be interest from other teams. Some of which include Barcelona and Inter Miami.

Most recently, there has also been major interest from Saudi Arabian teams such as Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal.

Al-Hilal, on the other hand, reportedly offered Lionel Messi a staggering £245 million per year contract to join their team, as seen in Talksport. The offer is expected to exceed that of long-standing rival Ronaldo, who currently earns £177 million per year at Al-Nassr.

The Saudi Arabia move by Cristiano Ronaldo was one that has been met with a lot of positive reactions from fans across the country. There is also optimism that Lionel Messi could possibly reunite with his rival in the Gulf State.

Saudi Arabian chief Alkassim, however, played down such hopes. He revealed that though it wouldn't be a bad idea, he doesn't know about the possibility. Speaking to MARCA, he said:

"At the moment we do not know anything about a possible Lionel Messi arrival."

He continued:

"Although I will not hide that, as the Saudi Federation, we would like to have him one day in the domestic league."

"The idea of the Federation is always to improve our football, and of course we would like to see Cristiano and Messi in the same league again, but the truth is that we don’t know anything now."

Both players recently took part in a friendly game between Riyadh XI and PSG, with the French club coming out victorious by 5-4.

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Lionel Messi omitted from PSG's squad to face French club Pays de Cassel

The Argentine won't take part in his club's round-of-32 Coup de France clash against lowly rated side US Pays de Cassel.

Lionel Messi won't travel with the team to Stade Bollaert-Delelis days after playing in the 5-4 friendly defeat against Riyadh XI in Saudi Arabia.

The likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were, however, included in the team. It's still left to be seen if they will take part in the encounter.

PSG manager Christophe Galtier did confirm that he will field a strong team against Pays de Cassel. In his words, he said:

“The best team will be aligned on Monday in the French Cup."

“So we will have a very competitive team and very close to what it can be in the championship."