Will Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play against each other in 2023/24?

With Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami and Cristiano Ronaldo miles away in Saudi Arabia, a golden age of European football has come to an end.

The pair duked it out for the better part of a decade in La Liga as Barcelona and Real Madrid jostled for superiority in Spain.

However, recent years have seen the pair nomadically travel around the world, leaving fans with fewer and fewer opportunities to see the two modern greats face off.

So will supporters get the chance to see Messi vs Ronaldo in the future?

Will Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play against each other in 2023/24?

There is no official game that will see Messi's Inter Miami face Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in the 2023/24 season. The two clubs are separated by around 7,500 miles over the North Atlantic Ocean and obviously play in different leagues.

Had Messi elected to remain at Paris Saint-Germain, he would have been in line to face Ronaldo in a pre-season friendly. PSG announced in early June they would take on Al-Nassr in July.

There are also no plans as of yet for an international fixture between Portugal and Argentina, with both players still active for their sides. However, Messi and Ronaldo have only ever faced each other on the national stage twice, coming in 2011 and 2014.

Both scored in the first fixture, a 2-1 win for Argentina where Angel Di Maria also got on the scoresheet, before Portugal got revenge three years later at Old Trafford with a late Raphael Guerreiro strike.

When did Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo last play against each other?

The last competitive game Messi and Ronaldo squared off in came in the 2020/21 Champions League as Barcelona met Juventus in the group stage.

Ronaldo didn't play in the first game between the teams as Ousmane Dembele's deflected effort and Messi's late strike sealed a 2-0 win for Barça at Allianz Stadium.

It was another away win in the return fixture as Juve went one better at Camp Nou. Ronaldo was able to steal the limelight with two penalties in a 3-0 triumph, with Weston McKennie grabbing the other goal.

The last time they shared a pitch together came in January 2023 during an exhibition game as an all-star team from the Saudi Pro League faced PSG, who brought along Messi after his World Cup win alongside star names like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

It was Ronaldo's first game since moving to Saudi Arabia after his exit from Manchester United and he outscored Messi two to one, though PSG still ran out 5-4 winners despite having full back Juan Bernat sent off.

Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo H2H record

Messi and Ronaldo first played against each other in the semi-finals of the 2007/08 Champions League. Neither player got on the scoresheet across the two legs as Man Utd edged the Catalans 1-0 on aggregate.

Messi scored a year later as Barça won the UCL in Rome before Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid as the two iconic La Liga stars began their legendary rivalry.

• Games played: 36
• Lionel Messi wins: 16
• Lionel Messi goals: 22
• Cristiano Ronaldo wins: 11
• Cristiano Ronaldo goals: 21
• Draws: 9

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