According to an official, a Saudi real estate tycoon won a ticket to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi square off in a friendly after offering $2.6 million at auction.
The match will take played in Riyadh on Thursday, January 19. Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain will face a select team comprised of players from Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr and their Saudi rivals Al Hilal.
It will be Ronaldo’s first game in the kingdom since signing a contract with Al Nassr that extends through 2025 and is worth more than 200 million euros ($214 million), according to club sources.
On Sunday, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will make his Saudi Pro League debut for Al Nassr.
Turki al-Sheikh, an adviser to the Royal Court and the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, proposed a charity auction for a unique ticket that would include privileges such as photo opportunities with players and access to the locker rooms to promote Thursday’s friendly.
The auction began at 1 million Saudi riyals ($266,000) and ended at 11:30 p.m. (20:30 GMT) on Tuesday.
Mushref al-winning Ghamdi’s bid of 10 million riyals ($2.6 million) was announced by Al-Sheikh on Twitter.
“Congratulations, you deserve it, and God bless you,” Sheikh responded.
The auction revenues will be donated to the national charity campaign Ehsan.
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