Ronaldo out for Al Nassr game vs. Messi, Inter Miami. ‘Last Dance’ will have to wait

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, generation-defining rivals with contrasting styles and a combined 1.1 billion Instagram followers, were scheduled to face each other for the 38th time on Thursday when Inter Miami plays a preseason match against Al Nassr in the Riyadh Season Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Alas, the matchup between the icons will not happen.

The highly anticipated showdown was being billed as “The Last Dance,” as it could very well have been the final time the two met on the field. But fans, promoters, and Apple TV executives will not get their wish. Ronaldo will miss the game with a calf injury, his coach announced Wednesday.

“Cristiano is in the final part of his recovery to join the group,” Luís Castro said. “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.”

Ronaldo had been dealing with the injury for several weeks. Al Nassr had canceled a two-game China tour last week because Ronaldo, the team’s biggest star, was unable to play. There were reports late last week that he might recover in time for the game against Inter Miami, but Castro put those reports to rest.

Inter Miami defender/midfielder Julian Gressel, who recently was traded to the team from the MLS champion Columbus Crew, had been looking forward to taking the field with Messi and Ronaldo.

“It’s going to be special sharing the field with such accomplished players,” he said Wednesday morning. “It’s been a good few weeks for me getting acclimated to those guys here as my teammates, and now, to step on the field with Cristano Ronaldo, as well…if he plays…it would be an exciting feeling and good test for us to prepare for the season.”

Inter Miami was beaten 4-3 by Saudi Pro League leaders Al Hilal on Monday and remains winless through three preseason games during its seven-game, five country world tour. Miami broke its scoreless drought with goals by Luis Suarez, Messi and David Ruiz. The defense was exposed, giving up two goals in the first 13 minutes and four overall.

“We have a lot of way to go before the season kicks off, and have some good games coming up,” Gressel said. “Monday was a good test where we got exposed in certain ways, and that’s a good thing. That’s what you want to happen in preseason so when the season rolls around, you’re up for the challenges.

“We’ll work on all the details, shifting in the back, covering spaces, tracking runners, all the things necessary that isn’t just necessarily on the back five guys, but all of us in the midfield and even the guys up front.”

Inter Miami’s back line has been adjusting since the departure of Canadian center back Kamal Miller, who was traded to the Portland Timbers, where he reunited with former Miami coach Phil Neville. Miami signed Argentine center back Nicolas Freire to replace him, but he did not play against Al Hilal. Serhiy Kryvtsov, who started the game, left early with an apparent head injury. His status for Thursday’s 1 p.m. game is unknown.

Ronaldo is Al Nassr’s leading scorer and ended 2023 as the top goalscorer in club football in the world with 53 goals in 59 games. Even without him, Inter Miami will face a tough task as Al Nassr is the Saudi league’s second-place team.

Al Nassr players to watch include Brazilian Anderson Talisca, who scored 40 goals over the past two seasons, and Senegal national team star Sadio Mane, the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich forward, although it has not been confirmed whether Mane will play. Mane was competing for Senegal in the African Nations Cup, but the team lost in the Round of 16, and Mane had prearranged vacation time after the Cup.

In addition to the absence of Ronaldo, and possibly Mane, another factor that may work in Miami’s favor is that Al Nassr has not played a match since Dec. 30 due to the league break as Saudi Arabia hosted the Asian Cup.

Gressel said Inter Miami will use Thursday’s game to continue building chemistry. He already knew DeAndre Yedlin from the U.S. national team, but is getting to know Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and the rest of the squad.

“I’m new to the club, have played three games with them, and not full games at that,” he said. “So, it’s definitely still new. They’re trying to figure me out, I’m trying to figure them ouot. It’s about continuing to get reps together and developing relationships, chemistry, and that doesn’t just happen from one training to the next or one game to the next.”

Inter Miami’s two games in Saudi Arabia have shined a spotlight on the growing rivalry between Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League. Both leagues have invested big money and had an influx of big-name talent as they try to raise their status among the world’s domestic leagues.

As the leagues grow, the debates intensify over which is better.

The top five leagues are still in England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France, according to the 2023 OPTA Power Rankings. MLS was ranked No. 29 and the Saudi Pro League No. 36.

Gressel was impressed with Al Hilal and what he has seen of the Saudi league.

“They were a quality team with quality players that played really well together, they hadn’t lost in 29 games or something, and Al Nassr is right behind them,” he said. “The quality is there. I don’t know how well it reflects the whole league, but from my experience, and from I’ve gotten to know over the last 90 minutes and from watching film I can see those are quality teams and tough games for us to be playing.”

No doubt, though, Thursday’s game would have been tougher, and more fun, with Ronaldo.