Cristiano Ronaldo will challenge Leo Messi in his first outing in Saudi Arabia

Rudi Garcia displeased with the situation

Still unable to make his debut with the Al-Nassr jersey in league matches – the Portuguese phenomenon still has to serve one more day of disqualification (on Saturday against Al Shabab, second in the standings 3 points behind the club coached by Rudi Garcia) – Cristiano Ronaldo will take the field for the first time in Saudi Arabia in a mixed team, composed of some players from his team and others from city rivals Al Hilal, which will face none other than Lionel Messi’s PSG.

The friendly match will be played Jan. 19 at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, where 24 hours earlier Milan and Inter Milan will compete for the League Super Cup.

The decision, officially confirmed on Tuesday, did not go down well with coach Rudi Garcia, who commented on it in a press conference with these words, “I’m sorry that Ronaldo’s debut is not with our jersey. I as the coach of Al-Nassr cannot be happy that this challenge is played just three days before an important league match like the one with Al Ettifaq. It could have been done differently. However, I understand the importance for the popularity of Saudi soccer of seeing great players like those from PSG perform in the country,” he concluded.