Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Al Nasr was a truly national event for Saudi Arabia.
Of course, the club simply did not have the right to allow the star to make his debut in an ordinary game.
A two-match disqualification earned last year in England for a broken phone of a young fan also came into play.
The team owners decided to take advantage of this and organized a special meeting.
The team, made up of Al-Nasr's leading players and another local giant, Al-Hilal, was to face PSG, owned by Qatar Sports Investments, in Riyadh.
Of course, the Portuguese was appointed captain of the hosts, and he received the armband from the hands of Turki Al ash-Sheikh, head of the General Directorate of Entertainment of Saudi Arabia.
The main intrigue lay in the confrontation between the five-time winner of the Golden Ball and Lionel Messi, because they have not met on the field since December 2020.
Then Juventus defeated Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League, and Ronaldo scored a double.
The Argentine, it is possible, came to Saudi Arabia not only to play football - there were rumors about his transfer just to Al-Hilal.
To say that the friendly match caused a crazy stir in the country is to say nothing.
According to ESPN, 2 million fans tried to purchase tickets online.
As a result, all entrances to the King Fahd International Stadium, which has a capacity of 68 thousand people, were sold in just a few minutes from the start of sales.
The businessman Mushref al-Ghamdi paid the most for the opportunity to see the game.
At a specially organized charity auction, he gave $ 2.6 million, despite the fact that the lot was originally estimated at ten times less.
For this money, the owner of the AqarOne company got the opportunity not only to get on the VIP platform, but also to visit the locker rooms and take pictures with the players.
PSG players were not deprived of attention either.
True, they decided not to immediately fly to Saudi Arabia, but first go to Qatar.
There, at the Khalifa stadium, the Parisians held a training session, which was attended by 30 thousand people.
At the same time, the French giant took part in the debut match of Ronaldo not free of charge.
According to L'Equipe, the club's budget was to be replenished by €10 million.
Of course, both Messi and Ronaldo were in the starting lineup.
In general, Christophe Galtier, despite the most difficult meeting with Rennes last weekend, threw all the strongest into battle.
Some of the leaders of the Saudi Arabia national team, who most recently made their mark at the 2022 World Cup, found a place in the hosts' line-up, in particular goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais and Salem Al-Dawsari.
But the eminent newcomer was greeted louder than all the stands.
When he appeared on the field, the fans literally jumped up from their seats with a roar of delight.
Many were wearing Al-Nasr T-shirts with the number seven on the back, which are not so easy to find in the country now.
The broadcast director also seemed to enjoy the moment and carefully followed Ronaldo's every step.
Here, the attacker, laughing, embraced and talked with a long-term Real Madrid partner Sergio Ramos, but he cheered up his partners, who, it seemed, did not believe in what was happening.
But it was the handshake with Messi in midfield, shortly before the kick-off whistle, that drew the most attention.
The two legendary football players even hugged each other, although they did not show much emotion.
As for the match itself, it turned out to be an exhibition match in the best sense of the word.
The teams didn't bother to play defensively and allowed each other to attack.
Let the meeting was not the best for the defenders, but the fans were definitely delighted.
This evening in Saudi Arabia there was a place for nine balls for every taste, and three penalties, one of which was not implemented, and removal.
And the first word left for the guests.
A goal was expected from Ronaldo, but Messi scored in the third minute.
After a perfect throw from Neymar, the Argentinean threw Al-Owais, who jumped out towards him, and partly avenged him for the sensational defeat at the World Cup in Qatar.
The hosts didn't do much in the opening.
The Parisians easily controlled the ball near someone else's penalty area and could well have scored more.
The protagonist of the evening woke up new partners.
He actively opened up ahead and tried to act as beautifully as possible.
The striker's feint was especially memorable when he threw the ball between the legs of Carlos Soler and earned a standing ovation from the entire arena.
Not surprisingly, it was the active Portuguese who earned a rather controversial penalty.
After filing the standard, he collided with another former Real Madrid comrade, Keylor Navas, and the referee awarded a penalty, believing that the goalkeeper did not have time to knock the ball out with his fist, but hit the opponent's head.
The victim himself confidently converted the penalty.
Of course, there was no corporate celebration.
The fans sang "si" along with the football player so loudly that it seemed that the whole Saudi Arabia was celebrating the goal.
Further events developed rapidly.
Only 13 minutes included several bright episodes: the direct removal of Juan Bernat for a foul of last hope, a goal by Marquinhos, a miss by Neymar from the “point” and another ball from Ronaldo.
The Portuguese at the very end of the first half restored the balance on the scoreboard.
After filing from the left, he hit the post with his head and was the first to finish.
At the same time, for this episode, the striker must thank Ramos, who missed the ball, trying to take it out of the penalty area.
But immediately after the break, the defender took revenge.
Remaining in the opponent's half, he closed the backache of Mbappe.
Moreover, before performing the transfer to a partner, Kilian mockingly deceived his opponent twice with tricks.
Just a few minutes later, Jang Hyun-soo equalized the score again with a successful header at the corner.
But PSG immediately earned a second penalty, and Mbappe did not miss his chance.
After that, the coaches removed the main stars from the field, including Messi, Neymar, Mbappe and Ronaldo.
Cristiano went to the bench to the thunderous applause of the stands.
Just one meeting, albeit a friendly one, was enough for him to fall in love with Saudi Arabia.
The debut in the official confrontation is next.
Well, in the absence of leaders, the teams scored once again.
At first, Hugo Ekitike ran one on one with Al Owais from almost his own half and easily outplayed him.
And in added time, Anderson Taliska set the final score on the scoreboard - 4:5.
Yes, the hosts lost, but they fought one of the strongest teams in Europe.