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Watch Lionel Messi Upstage Cristiano Ronaldo Inside First Three Minutes Of Saudi Friendly

Thursday's exhibition game in Saudi Arabia was supposed to be Cristiano Ronaldo's big moment but he was upstaged by rival Lionel Messi after just three minutes.

Robert Summerscales

Watch Lionel Messi Upstage Cristiano Ronaldo Inside First Three Minutes Of Saudi Friendly
Watch Lionel Messi Upstage Cristiano Ronaldo Inside First Three Minutes Of Saudi Friendly /

Thursday's exhibition game in Saudi Arabia was supposed to be all about Cristiano Ronaldo but he was upstaged by rival Lionel Messi early on.

Messi scored after less than three minutes to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 lead against a Riyadh XI comprising of players from Al Nassr and Al-Hilal.

Watch that early goal below.

This was Ronaldo's first game since he joined Al Nassr on a free transfer.

Meanwhile, PSG had travelled to the Middle East for a mini mid-season tour.

Having visited Qatar on Wednesday, PSG headed to the Saudi capital and the King Fahd International Stadium to face Ronaldo and Co.

PSG named a strong starting XI, with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar lining up alongside Messi.

It was Neymar's pass that set up Messi for the game's opening goal.

Lionel Messi pictured celebrating after scoring from a free-kick for PSG against Nice in October 2022
Lionel Messi scored the game's opening goal :: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/Matthieu Mirville

PSG went on to win the game 5-4, despite playing the entire second half with 10 men after Juan Bernat had been shown a straight red card.

Despite being on the losing side, Ronaldo scored two goals and received a Player of the Match trophy after the final whistle.

SEE MORE: Watch All Nine Goals From Crazy Friendly Game Starring Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi And Kylian Mbappe

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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.