Monitoring desk
ISLAMABAD/RIYADH: Mushref al-Ghamdi, a Saudi real estate tycoon, won a ticket to see stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo face off in a friendly match after bidding 2.6 million dollars at auction.
According to the AFP, the football match on Thursday in Riyadh was set to pit Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain against football players from Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr and their Saudi Arabia rivals Al Hilal.
Saudi businessman bids
It would mark the first time Ronaldo will play football in the Kingdom since signing of a contract with Al Nassr that runs until 2025 and is worth more than 200 million euros.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is scheduled to make his Saudi Pro League debut for Al Nassr on Sunday.
To promote Thursday’s friendly, adviser at the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority Turki al-Sheikh, announced the charity auction for the ticket with perks like photo opportunities with football players and access to the locker rooms.
Bidding started at 1 million Saudi riyals ($266,000), and the auction closed at 11:30 pm local time on Tuesday.
Sheikh then announced on Twitter the winning bid of 10 million riyals ($2.6 million) had come from Mushref al-Ghamdi.
“Congratulations, you deserve it, and may God reward you with good,” Sheikh said.
