Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr’s manager Luis Castro has confirmed that Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be taking part in their Riyadh Season Cup game against Lionel Messi starrer Inter Miami. Castro’s comments come on the eve of the game that could have been between football’s two biggest stars. The game is a midseason friendly for Saudi club Al Nassr and a pre-season game for Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Inter Miami.

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“We will not see [Messi vs Ronaldo], Ronaldo is in the final part of his recovery to join the group. We hope that in the next few days he can start working with the team. He will be absent from the game,” said Castro as quoted by football news outlet GOAL.

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Ronaldo isn’t playing as he got injured ahead of Al Nassr’s China’s tour and is still recovering from the injury. Ronaldo had issued a statement at the time of injury and had said: “I feel sad. I know you are sad too, especially the people who love Cristiano, but we have to see this in a good way. We have not cancelled the game, we want to push for the game and be back here. We will be back. I want to play for you. Don’t be sad because I am sad, and I hope you understand the circumstances of a football player.”

Talking about the league standings, Al Nassr is currently second in the Saudi Pro League with 46 points from 19 games. Al-Hilal is at the top of the league with 53 points. As for Inter Miami, they ended 2023 MLS season on not a bright note. They have already been beaten by Al-Hilal 4-3 in the Riyadh Season Cup earlier in build up to their 2024 season already and will be looking to do better against Ronaldo-less Al Nassr on Thursday (Feb 1).

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