Cristiano Ronaldo

Inter Miami denied it has agreed to compete in the Riyadh Season Cup, which would've potentially pitted Lionel Messi against Al-Nassr and star forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

The club called Tuesday's announcement about its participation "inaccurate" and added team managing owner Jorge Mas "has made no comments, publicly or privately, in relation to the preseason tour."

Earlier in the day, Inter Miami vs. Al-Nassr was promoted as part of the Riyadh Season Cup and billed "The Last Dance" between Messi and Ronaldo.

The pair most recently faced off this past January, when Paris Saint-Germain beat a Riyadh All-Stars XI squad 5-4 in Saudi Arabia.

Many thought that would be the last time Messi and Ronaldo shared a pitch since they're spending the twilight of their careers on different continents. Based on Inter Miami's statement, it still might be.

In a perfect scenario, Messi and Ronaldo would contest a farewell match of sorts in the FIFA World Cup or UEFA Champions League, stages befitting their status within the sport. The Riyadh Season Cup at least theoretically presented a finite conclusion to their long-running rivalry on the pitch.

For more than a decade, Messi and Ronaldo cast a wide shadow over world football. Ronaldo won the first of his five Ballon d'Or awards in 2008, and the pair of he and Messi went on to lift the trophy in 12 of the next 14 years.

Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid in 2009 also put them on opposite sides for one of Europe's biggest derbies for nine seasons.

Fans spent countless hours arguing which of the two is better, a debate that has probably come to an end thanks to Messi's record eight Ballons d'Or and Argentina's 2022 World Cup triumph.

If it were to come together, one more friendly would undoubtedly be used to yet again put Messi and Ronaldo's legacies side by side.

For all intents and purposes, the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is effectively over now that they're in the twilight of their playing careers and stationed on different continents.

But the long-running battle hasn't subsided entirely.

Eagle-eyed fans made note of Ronaldo's reaction to an Instagram post questioning the legitimacy of Messi's Ballon d'Or win Monday, his eighth all time.

To be fair, Ronaldo wasn't the only person questioning whether Messi was the most deserving candidate in the Ballon d'Or field.

The 36-year-old helped Argentina win its third World Cup and was the Golden Ball winner in the process. His form in the second half of the season with Paris Saint-Germain was unremarkable, however, and moving to Major League Soccer was a step down in his quality of opposition.

Erling Haaland, who was the best striker in the world en route to helping Manchester City win a treble, was perhaps a more worthy contender.

Of course, it's worth noting that retroactively reducing Messi's Ballon d'Or trophies to five would put him level with Ronaldo. They'd share the record rather than the Inter Miami star sitting alone and setting a mark that will stand for the foreseeable future.

That fact won't have been lost on Ronaldo.

It's doubtful the two icons will ever face off in a competitive fixture again. Maybe fans can at least look forward to years them taking subtle digs at one another, though, to keep the competitive dynamic alive and well.

Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., who is the 13-year-old son of soccer megastar Cristiano Ronaldo, has agreed to a contract with Al-Nassr's U13 team.

According to world football insider Fabrizio Romano, Ronaldo Jr. will start training with the team in the coming days and will wear jersey No. 7, just like his father.

The elder Ronaldo is widely considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time, and he is in the midst of his second season with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr after signing a $75-million-per-year deal through the summer of 2025 with the team in December 2022.

While Ronaldo is 38 years old, Romano noted that the soccer legend has mentioned before that his son hopes to play professionally with him one day, saying: "My son tells me: dad, hold on a few more years, I want to play with you!"

Ronaldo has been a pro soccer player for 23 seasons, and during that time he has racked up a remarkable 732 career goals across all competitions.

When adding in his 127 career goals for the Portuguese national team, Ronaldo has 859 goals, which is the most in top-flight soccer history, ahead of Lionel Messi's 821 and Pelé's 762.

Playing for Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr over the years, Ronaldo has essentially done it all in the world of soccer.

He has seven league titles to his credit and has won the UEFA Champions League on five occasions. He also has five FIFA Ball d'Or awards to his credit and was the Best FIFA Men's Player twice, and FIFA World Player of the Year once.

The only major accomplishment missing from Ronaldo's résumé is winning the World Cup, but he did lead Portugal to victory in Euro 2016.

At this point, there isn't much left for Ronaldo to do or prove in the world of soccer, which is why playing alongside his son may be something of interest.

Ronaldo would likely have to play for at least a few more years to make it a reality, but with Ronaldo Jr. signing on to develop at the premier club in Saudi Arabia, a father-son duo is not out of the question.

Lionel Messi may have dominated the soccer headlines since his move to the MLS with Inter Miami, but he still fell short in one aspect.

According to Forbes (h/t ESPN), Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid soccer player in the world this year over Messi, Neymar and others.

Ronaldo, who is also ranked by Forbes as the highest-paid athlete in any sport, claimed the top spot with expected total earnings of $260 million. His contract with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr is believed to be worth $200 million. He joined the team in January after previously starring for Manchester United.

Messi ranked second with expected total earnings of $135 million. Still, he has a reason to celebrate, as he is the first MLS player to crack the top 10 since David Beckham in 2012.

The top 10 on Forbes' list of highest-paid footballers looks like this:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo ($260m)
2. Lionel Messi ($135m)
   
3. Neymar ($112m)
   
4. Kylian Mbappé ($110m)
   
5. Karim Benzema ($106m)
   
6. Erling Haaland ($58m)
   
7. Mohamed Salah ($53m)
   
8. Sadio Mané ($52m)
   
9. Kevin De Bruyne ($39m)
   
10. Harry Kane ($36m)
    

Ronaldo will be back in action for Al Nassr on Oct. 21 against Damac. Messi and Inter Miami will take on Charlotte FC on Oct. 18.

Cristiano Ronaldo has characterized his longtime rivalry with Lionel Messi as "gone," expressing respect for his longtime competitor.

Ronaldo's comments were found in Record, a Portuguese newspaper. ESPN's Adriana Garcia relayed the quotes.

"I don't see things like that, the rivalry is gone. It was good, spectators liked it.

"Those who like Cristiano Ronaldo don't have to hate Messi and vice versa. We've done well, we have changed the history of football. We are respected all over the world, that's the most important thing.

"He's followed his path and I have followed mine, regardless of playing outside of Europe. From what I've seen, he's been doing well and so have I. The legacy lives on, but I don't see the rivalry like that. We shared the stage many times, it was 15 years. I'm not saying we're friends, I've never had dinner with him, but we're professional colleagues and we respect each other."

Either Ronaldo or Messi won the Ballon d'Or every year from 2008 to 2017 as the two competed for the title of the best footballer in the world.

Both have tremendous resumes as they continue their careers.

Among many other accomplishments, Ronaldo has won seven league titles, five Champions League titles and five Ballon d'Or awards. He also owns the record for most goals (140) and assists (42) in Champions League play.

Messi owns seven Ballon d'Or awards and six European Golden Shoes. He led Barcelona to 10 La Liga crowns and four Champions League titles during his storied career. He also just led Argentina to their third-ever World Cup victory.

Don't expect Cristiano Ronaldo to be joining Lionel Messi any time soon.

"The Saudi league is better than MLS," Ronaldo told reporters. "I opened the way to the Saudi league, and now all the players are coming here."

Ronaldo joined Al Nassr of the Saudi Pro League in January following the end of his second stint with Manchester United.

While the quality of the MLS compared to the Saudi Pro League may be up for debate depending on who one asks, the striker is not wrong about a number of notable players following him. Karim Benzema, Marcelo Brozovic, N'Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino are all among the players who have agreed to deals with teams in the Saudi Pro League.

Perhaps most notably, the veteran also said he has no plans to return to a European club.

"I'm 100 percent sure I won't return to any European club," he said. "I'm 38 years old. And European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid one and still doing good is the Premier League. They're way ahead of all the other leagues."

The comments about the MLS in particular come after Messi was introduced to fans as the newest addition for Inter Miami CF on Sunday.

A number of notable international stars, including David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimović, have played in the MLS, but the addition of Messi feels like something of a watershed moment. After all, he is considered the greatest soccer player of all-time by many and is coming to the league when he is still immensely popular as a reigning World Cup champion.

He helped lead Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title and was brilliant in the victory over France in the final with two goals, one of which came in extra time.

Yet he is joining an Inter Miami side that has struggled this season.

They sit in last place in the Eastern Conference with 18 points and are a full 12 points behind the ninth-place D.C. United for the final spot in the playoff picture. It will take some magic for the legendary player to lead the club into the postseason.

But most of his career has been defined by that soccer magic.

Cristiano Ronaldo will not leave Al-Nassr this summer and intends to play for the Saudi Arabian club next season, he said Thursday.

However, the Portuguese international did acknowledge the need for the Saudi Pro League to improve if it hopes to become one of the world's best.

Ronaldo said in an interview with the Saudi Pro League, via ESPN's Mark Ogden:

"The league is very good. But I think we have many, many opportunities to still grow. The league is competitive. We have very good teams, very good Arab players, but they need to improve a little bit more the infrastructure.

"Even the referees, the VAR system, should be a little quicker. I think other small things they need to improve.

"But I am happy here, I want to continue here, I will continue here. And in my opinion if they continue to do the work that they want to do here, for the next five years, I think the Saudi league can be a top five league in the world."

Ronaldo signed a contract with Al-Nassr through June 2025 worth close to €200 million per year after parting ways with Premier League side Manchester United in November. He went on to score 14 goals in 16 games with the Riyadh-based club.

However, Al-Nassr missed out on winning any hardware this season with Ronaldo on board after finishing second in the SPL with a 20-7-3 record. Al Ittihad finished first with a 22-6-2 record, and Al-Hilal won the King Cup.

Rumors that Ronaldo could leave Al-Nassr began to circulate last month, with Premier League side Newcastle linked to the 38-year-old. However, Newcastle coach Eddie Howe essentially put an end to those reports.

"It is best to discover players before they explode onto the world scene," he told reporters. "We could not be able to come close to affording those players as they are the best players in the world."

"We are never going to be in a position currently to afford those transfer fees and wages, so we need to go underneath and find them young and develop them into the players they can be".

Ronaldo's Saudi Arabian competition could become even tougher next season as Real Madrid star Karim Benzema is expected to sign with Al-Ittihad, per ESPN's Julien Laurens and Alex Kirkland. Additionally, Lionel Messi will depart Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain this summer and has an offer on the table to join Al-Hilal, per Laurens.

Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbes' list of the highest-paid athletes in 2022 with total earnings of $136 million.

Only three other athletes have eclipsed the 38-year-old's off-field earnings ($90 million) in a single year since the publication began tracking its annual rankings.

Coincidentally given their longtime rivalry, Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi narrowly trailed Ronaldo in second place at $130 million.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was the first athlete from an American sports league. His $119.5 million in overall earnings put him fourth.

The LIV Golf effect was on display.

There wasn't a single golfer in the top 10 when Forbes conducted the exercise in 2022, and Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson both made the cut this time around. The pair had significant gulfs between what they collected on and off the course.

In Mickelson's case, the gap exceeded $100 million ($104 million; $2 million), and it was nearly that high for Johnson ($102 million; $5 million).

At least Mickelson and Johnson continued competing, though, albeit away from the PGA Tour spotlight.

Roger Federer officially retired in September after having appeared in one competitive match in 2022. He teamed with Rafael Nadal in a doubles loss to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe in the Laver Cup.

Forbes tabulated the 41-year-old's off-court earnings at roughly $100,000, yet he remained a commercial colossus with $95 million in his bank account away from tennis.

Cristiano Ronaldo told reporters on Wednesday that he contemplated retirement after his contentious exit from Manchester United this season.

"It was all in the balance after the World Cup," he said regarding the possibility of retiring after Portugal's stint in the World Cup over the winter. "I reflected with my family, and then we came to the conclusion that it was not time to throw in the towel. I learned a lot from it, and I'm very happy to be back. ... I feel that I still have a lot to give, and I want to keep it going."

Ronaldo, who is currently with Portugal for Euro 2024 qualifiers during the current international break, ended up making the move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr in January.

But not before he went scorched earth on Manchester United.

In a lengthy interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo threw several Manchester United managers and the team's ownership under the bus. It was what appeared to be the final of several attempts to sabotage his relationship with the club and force a move away from Old Trafford, and the bombshell interview worked, as the club shortly thereafter terminated his contract.

It was believed that Ronaldo had been hoping to secure another season in the Champions League by forcing away from United. But when those clubs didn't come calling, he ultimately settled on a major payday with Al Nassr.

Ronaldo's relationship with Portugal was also complicated after he was benched during the knockout stage of the World Cup. But that apparently is water under the bridge for the 38-year-old forward.

The fact that Fernando Santos—the manager who benched him—parted ways with the country probably helped the healing process. Roberto Martinez is now serving in that role.

"It's a new chapter for everyone, for the players, the staff and the country," Ronaldo told reporters. "We feel good energy. It's a breath of fresh air. I'm not saying that it's better or worse than before, but sometimes in life, changes are positive. There are new ideas, a new mindset. You can notice it. You can feel the change, and that is good for everyone."

Suffice to say, it's been a year of change for Ronaldo at both the club and country level.

It's been months since Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United after his contract ended by mutual consent, and Erik ten Hag doesn't seem too broken up about it.

"I had my reasons [for Ronaldo's exit]," the Manchester United manager said, per ESPN. "They were obvious, and I also knew the consequences. It could have had a negative outcome. That is always possible in football. But I am not worrying. I sleep well also, even during those nights."

Ronaldo was a Manchester United legend earlier in his career, and his return to the club on a two-year deal in 2021 was met with plenty of fanfare.

Yet his second stint did not exactly go as planned, as he was relegated to substitute for extended stretches in addition to some public criticism of his manager and others. Ben Church of CNN noted "Ronaldo's relationship with the club began to deteriorate when he reportedly tried to push for a transfer ahead of this season."

Then there was the interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV (h/t Reuters) in which the 38-year-old said ten Hag and "two or three guys around the club" attempted to push him out, which left him feeling "betrayed."

Specifically, he said of ten Hag: "I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't respect me, I'm never gonna have respect for you."

Ronaldo was also seen walking down the tunnel with time remaining on the clock during a match against Tottenham, and the club elected not to use him as a result during the following contest against Chelsea.

Ten Hag further explained his mindset when it came to the November split between club and star player:

"I have to take decisions in respect of advancing the club and the team. That is my job and that is the responsibility I have—and I have to stand by those decisions. I have to face the consequences and the impact of my decisions, not only in the short term but also for the longer term.

"Of course, you don't always have a lot of time. In that period I remember we had 10 days so I could consider which choice would be the best. You always have to think strategically. But that is my job and that is the responsibility I have to take."

Ronaldo joined Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr upon his departure from the Premier League club and is now the highest-paid player in the world.