The highly-anticipated next chapter of the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry won't happen as planned, leaving doubts that the two stars who were the faces of the sport for over a decade will ever play each other will miss Thursday's friendly between Al-Nassr and Inter Miami due to a calf injury, his club announced Wednesday."Cristiano is in the final part of his recovery to join the group, " Al-Nassr manager Lus Castro told reporters."We expect that he can begin to work with the team in the next few days. He will be an element that will be absent from the game."Thursday's match, which is part of the Riyadh Season Cup in Saudi Arabia, was hyped to be the final club match between Messi and Ronaldo as both players have left the European club leagues over the last year. Ronaldo was the first to depart Europe, joining Al-Nassr in January 2023, while Messi opted to go to Inter Miami in Lionel Messi wins MLS Cup, is it good or bad for MLS? is likely coming to an end "soon."Messi and Ronaldo have gone head-to-head 37 times in their careers Toms Lemos Arajo Jersey , with the bulk of those matches occurring when Messi's time at FC Barcelona and Ronaldo's tenure at Real Madrid overlapped for nine seasons. They've only gone up against each other twice since Ronaldo departed from Real Madrid in 2018. They last went up against each other in January 2023, when Messi went up against the Saudi Pro League XI that included Ronaldo while he was still with Paris 've also only faced each other twice in international matches, with both games being the soccer greats have faced each other for the last time, Messi holds the series edge between the two. His teams have gone 17-11-9 against Ronaldo's teams, though both players have scored 23 goals over those 37 for what lies ahead www.portugalworldcupshop.com/collections...sco-conceicao-jersey , Messi and Inter Miami will conclude their preseason tour in Hong Kong and Japan next week. After it hosts Messi's former Argentinian club team for a friendly, Inter Miami will open up the 2024 MLS regular season against Real Salt Lake on Feb. , meanwhile, has been dealing with the calf injury in recent weeks as Al-Nassr canceled its China tour as a result. Al-Nassr is second in the Saudi Pro League table this season, trailing Al-Hilal by seven points through 19 weeks.

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Lionel Messi would prefer to become a club owner rather than a coach when he quits as a player, the Argentina soccer star has October, he signed a three-year contract extension with Inter Miami to take him through the 2028 season."I don't see myself as a coach, " the 38-year-old Messi told the Luzu TV streaming channel in an interview recorded in December that aired Tuesday. "I like management, but if have to decide for one of the three Ralph Priso-Mbongue Jersey , I would like to be an owner."I would like to have my own club, to be able to grow it, to start from the bottom and to be able to give the kids, the people, the opportunity to grow and make it an important club. If I had to choose, that's what would appeal to me most."Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar in 2022, is already a part owner of Uruguay's fourth-division team Deportivo LSM, which is co-owned by Inter teammate Luis Suarez."Deportivo LS is a family dream that began in 2018. We have grown a lot with more than 3 Jonathan Osorio Jersey , 000 members, " club founder Suarez said last May in a video alongside Messi. "I want to offer Uruguayan soccer, the place I love and where I grew up as a child, opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to grow."The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi also has a future minority ownership stake in Inter included in his won the MLS Golden Boot this season after scoring 29 goals, five more than LAFC's Denis Bouanga and Nashville's Sam Surridge. He also had 19 assists, and his 48 total goal contributions was one shy of matching the league record set by Carlos Vela in also became the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards in MLS by The Associated great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!

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Mexico tied Costa Rica 0-0 on Sunday night to win Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and will play Saudi Arabia in the 's Santiago Gimenez appeared to score on a bicycle kick in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, but the goal was disallowed by Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar following a video review. Gimnez appeared to be offside when Carlos Rodrguez lofted the ball into the penalty area following a free kick. Orlando Galo's headed clearance attempt went in front of the goal to , unbeaten in 10 Gold Cup matches against Costa Rica, finished even with the Ticos at seven points but won the group on goal Tri Csar Montes Jersey , which defeated the Dominican Republic and Suriname in their first two matches, will play Saudi Arabia next weekend while the Costa Ricans will face the United Rica will be missing four regular starters. Forward Manfred Ugalde www.mexicosoccerstore.com/collections/brian-gutierrez-jersey , who has three goals in the tournament, and midfielder Carlos Mora are suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Defender Ariel Lassiter has a fractured left hand and forward Warren Madrigal a broken left by The Associated great stories delivered right to your inbox?Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!

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