The fiercest footballing debate of this generation will be revived when Messi’s Inter Miami travel to Riyadh next year for a one-off clash against Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. An exact date for the showdown is yet to be announced, but football romantics the world over will be waiting with bated breath at the prospect of a reunion between the two best players of the past 20 years.

‘The Last Dance’ will form part of the Riyadh Season Cup, and while it may be billed as a ‘friendly’, one can bet the two headline stars will see it as anything but. Messi has won 16 of the 36 competitive clashes between the long-time rivals to date, while Ronaldo has emerged on the winning side in just 11 of those encounters.

The pair last met in a friendly in January 2023 (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The much-anticipated meeting will take place a little more than a year after the two last faced off in January 2023. And both players got on the score sheet on that occasion when Paris Saint-Germain edged a Riyadh All-Star XI 5-4 (also in the Saudi Arabian capital).

That was the sixth straight clash between the pair in which at least one of them has found the back of the net. And supporters will be hoping both veterans have a prominent hand to play in what will almost definitely be their final on-field face-off.

Messi has 16 wins from 36 competitive games against Ronaldo, while the latter has only 11 (Image: AFP/Getty Images)