Businessman from Saudi Arabia lags behind the highest ticket price to date for a friendly match in which Lionel Messi and Cristiano RonaldoJanuary 19.

Musref Al-Ghabi, general manager of the AqarOne real estate group, is said to be leading the auction, which will end on January 17.

The businessman has offered 10 million riyals ($2.66 million) for a ticket to a friendly match between Al Nasr, a mixed Saudi club team that recently acquired Cristiano Ronaldo, and Al Hilal against Lionel Messi’s Saint Germain.

The match on January 19 in Riyadh will be the first home meeting between the two stars since Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0 in December 2020.

The ticket buyer has the right to be present at the post-match ceremony, as well as enter the dressing room and get to know the two players.

In addition to Ronaldo, Saudi Arabia has also signed Messi as a tourism ambassador. Paris Saint-Germain is owned by the government of Qatar, which just hosted the World Cup.

^{According to REUTERS}