Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al Nassr's rivals to make move for Lionel Messi amid uncertainty over his Inter Miami future: Reports

Al-Hilal are attempting to bring the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi rivalry to the Middle East, according to journalist Khalid Alzahrani (via Morocco World News). He claims that the Saudi club have already reached out to the Argentine's camp to discuss the possibilities of a move.

This is not the first time that La Pulga has received an offer to move to the Middle East. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner was reportedly offered a €1.4bn pay package by Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2023 after he left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

However, Lionel Messi turned them down, citing family reasons, and moved to Inter Miami. The 37-year-old has since registered 44 goals and 21 assists from 54 games across competitions.

The Argentine's contract expires at the end of this year, and he hasn't signed an extension yet. Al-Hilal are now ready to take advantage of the situation.

The Saudi club are said to be preparing an offer that would eclipse Cristiano Ronaldo's contract with Al-Nassr, and make La Pulga the highest-paid player in the history of football. Despite facing rejection before, Saudi Arabia are determined to add Lionel Messi to their collection of superstars.

CR7's presence in the Saudi Pro League has already propelled the league to stardom, and La Pulga's arrival could be an even bigger boost to football in the country. Interestingly, the Portuguese's contract with Al-Nassr expires in a couple of months.

Who did Diego Maradona choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the GOAT debate?

Argentina football legend Diego Maradona once named Alfredo Di Stefano, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi as the best ever players in football ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese claimed in 2017 that he was the best player the world had ever seen, prompting a response from the 1986 FIFA World Cup winner.

Speaking to AS in 2017, however, Maradona outlined why he admired CR7.

"Ronaldo said he is the best ever? Tell him to stop talking nonsense! The best? For me...From what little I saw of them, Alfredo Di Stéfano, [Johan] Cruyff…and Messi, but it can be Cristiano too," said Maradona (via Si).

He continued:

"Another thing that I like about Cristiano Ronaldo is that when the team need him, he delivers. There haven't been many players since Cruyff with that quality."

Interestingly, Messi finally lived up to Diego Maradona's legacy by lifting the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava