Saudi tycoon pays $2.6 million to see Ronaldo, Messi in Riyadh

ANKARA 

A Saudi business tycoon has won an auction charity ticket for 10 million riyals ($2.66 million) for a friendly match between football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in Riyadh, an official said.

A so-called "ticket beyond imagination" to attend the friendly match between the Saudi Al-Nassr FC and Al-Hilal SFC teams on the one hand and France’s Paris Saint-Germain was sold at a charity auction for 10 million Saudi riyals.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by the head of the Saudi Entertainment Authority, Turki Al-Sheikh, who said a Saudi businessman was the winner of the ticket.

The match, set for Thursday, will be the first for Ronaldo, who recently completed his transfer from Manchester United to Al-Nassr.

The auctioned ticket aimed to promote the event, allowing the winner to meet the players.

Tickets for the match sold out as soon as they were put for sale. King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh will host the game with a capacity of some 70,000 seats.