Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo match: Saudi billionaire bids over Rs 20 crore for ticket of epic clash

A Saudi billionaire has bid USD 2.6 million at an auction to win a ticket to watch the upcoming epic friendly match between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on Thursday (January 19) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In the much-awaited encounter, Messi's Paris Saint-Germain will lock horns with a team made up of players from Ronaldo's new Saudi club Al Nassr and their rivals Al Hilal. The match is important as it will be the first time that the Portuguese superstar will play for the Saudi club. Ronaldo has inked EUR 200 million deal with Al Nassr. The deal will remain in effect until 2025.

In an apparent effort to promote Thursday's friendly, Turki al-Sheikh, an advisor at the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, announced that an auction will be held for a special ticket that would come with several added perks.

The bidding for the ticket started at 1 million Saudi riyals ($266,000) and the winning bid of 10 million riyals ($2.6 million) was raised by real estate moghul Mushref al-Ghamdi.

"Congratulations, you deserve it, and may God reward you with good," Sheikh said.

According to Saudi media, the auction money will go to the national charity campaign known as Ehsan.

Besides Messi, several other PSG stars, including France striker Kylian Mbappe and Moroccan star Achraf Hakimi will play in the friendly on Thursday.

On the other hand, the Saudi select team will see the presence of Salem Al-Dawsari, the man who scored the winning goal in Saudi Arabia’s stunning win over Argentina in the World Cup's group stage.