CELEBRITY
Lionel Messi may team up with Odion Ighalo in Saudi Arabia
If on-going speculations are anything to go by, Super Eagles’ former hit-man, Odion Ighalo may play in the same team with the legendary Lionel Messi at the Al-Hilal.
Speculations are rife that Lionel Messi’s father who is also the player’s agent, Jorge Messi, is in Riyadh for talks with Al-Hilal about the possibility of his son joining the Saudi club on a staggering £245m-a-year contract.
Messi’s PSG are due in Saudi Arabia for a friendly match against Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
Both Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the football space in the past 15 years and it appears that the rivalry may shift to Saudi Arabia, who appears are taking cue from Qatar to use football as public relations tool.
According to a report by UK’s Daily Mail, it has emerged that Al Hilal, which Ighalo plays for, are keen to bring Messi when his contract expires at PSG in June.
Like it happened to Cameroon’s captain, Vincent Aboubakar when Ronaldo was brought in by Al Nassr, it is hoped the Ighalo would not be sacrificed for Messi at Al Hilal.
Ighalo at the moment is one of the seven foreign players at Al Hilal.
“They would be willing to pay him $300m-a-year (£245m) to get a deal over the line”, according to Mundo Deportivo., a Spanish news outlet.
Nasser Al-Attiyah, a relative of the Emir of Qatar, has further fuelled speculation that he will move to the Middle East after reportedly stating: ‘Messi, his next club after his departure from Paris Saint-Germain, will be Saudi Arabia.
Al-Hilal are currently banned from adding players until the next transfer window, but they want Messi to sign now ahead of a potential move in the summer.
Messi’s father has arrived in the Saudi capital to discuss the proposed move, as reported by The New Arab
, which would see Messi renew his on-pitch rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo joined fellow Saudi side Al-Nassr last month and will receive £175m per year during his time with the club.
Should Messi accept Al-Hilal’s proposal, he will earn significantly more than Ronaldo and also get the chance to play against his great nemesis once more.
Messi and Ronaldo enjoyed a historic rivalry while competing against each other for Barcelona and Real Madrid between 2009 and 2018, when they established themselves as the two best players on the planet.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr appeared to have signalled the end of their rivalry, but Messi could now follow him to Saudi.
Clashes between Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal are considered Saudi’s equivalent of El Clasico, and seeing Messi and Ronaldo on opposite sides would only add extra spice to the occasion.
The legendary paid could also play against one another when PSG travel to Riyadh to take on an All-Star XI featuring players from Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal on January 19.
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.
Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.
“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.
The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
-Reuters
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.
Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.
“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.
Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.
-Reuters
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